wrestling / Columns
The 2010 411 Wrestling Year End Awards (Part 4)
Welcome to Part 4 of the 411Mania.com 2010 Year End Wrestling Awards. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3!
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: Josh Matthews (WWE)
Worst Announcer of the Year: Michael Cole (WWE)
Overall Rookie of the Year: Percy Watson (WWE)
Major Fed Rookie of the Year: Wade Barrett (WWE)
Breakout of the Year: The Miz (WWE)
Comeback Wrestler of the Year: Rob Van Dam (TNA)
Disappointment of the Year: More Deaths in Wrestling at a Young Age (Various)
Best Indy Show of the Year (non-PPV): CHIKARA Through Savage Progess Cuts the Jungle Line
Free TV Match of the Year: Motor City Machine Guns vs. Beer Money, Inc. – Best 2 out of 3 Falls (TNA iMPACT 08.12.10)
Story/Surprise of the Year: WWE roster depleted by injuries and departures, leads to “youth movement”. (WWE)
Worst Story/Surprise of the Year: The Amazing Kong / Bubba The Love Sponge Saga. (TNA)
Feud/Storyline of the Year: Nexus Takes Over Raw/vs. John Cena (WWE)
Worst Feud/Storyline of the Year: Abyss and “The King” (TNA)
Worst Fed of the Year: Total Nonstop Action
Fed of the Year: World Wrestling Entertainment
Worst Promo of the Year: The Genesis of McGillicutty (WWE NXT 8.31.10)
Worst Pay-Per-View of the Year: TNA Hardcore Justice (8.8.10)
Worst Match of the Year:> X-Division Steel Asylum Match (TNA Impact, 01.04.10)
Worst Manager of the Year: Krytsal Lashley (TNA)
Worst Tag Team of the Year: “The Band” of Scott Hall and Sean Waltman (TNA)
Worst Women’s Wrestler of the Year: Lacey Von Erich (TNA)
Worst Wrestler of the Year: Titus O’Neil (WWE)
And now that we have that out of the way…
PROMO OF THE YEAR
Honorable Mentions:
CM Punk sings “Happy Birthday” to Rey Mysterio’s daughter (WWE Smackdown 3.12.10) – 5 Points
Paul London on Peligro Abejas! after DDT4 (PWG 5.10.10) – 5 Points
Shawn Michaels says Goodbye (WWE Raw 3.29.10) – 10 Points
Wade Barrett antagonizes John Cena (WWE Raw 10.11.10) – 10 Points
3rd Place: William Shatner Sings WWE Theme Music (WWE Raw) – 11 points
2nd Place: Daniel Bryan confronts Michael Cole after being cut. (WWE NXT: 5.18.10) – 12 points
And your winner is…:
Len Archibald: There were actually a lot of great segments in the wrestling world this year, showing that 2010 has been one of the better years in history; of course it is also the year where there was a clear-cut moment that stood head and shoulders above the rest. The then unnamed rookies from season one of NXT made their way to the ring during a match between John Cena and CM Punk and destroyed everything. Literally. Everything. In this climate of “WWE PG SUX~!”, this should have (and in most cases, did) satisfy the bloodlust of those rabid fans who rate the quality of what they witness based on chaos and anarchy. This had everything; the decimation of the WWE’s “poster child”, the blurring of face/heel alignments as CM Punk and Luke Gallows were victims as well, the unpredictability of the attack on Jerry Lawler, the brutality of poor Justin Roberts getting the life choked out of him by Daniel Bryan and the sheer chaos of the ring being left as a shell. It was the defining moment of 2010, the official arrival of the “WWE Youth Movement” and may be as time goes on, one of the defining moments of this era of professional wrestling. It was perfect.
Ari Berenstein: Shock and awe—that’s what this angle was all about. No one expected destruction quite like this, on this level and magnitude. There was a real sense of danger when NXT cornered John Cena in the ring and then beat the hell out of him. Here was the biggest name in the promotion, outnumbered and utterly decimated. Announcers, referees and ring crew members who were normally exempt from physical violence during huge ringside brawls were attacked without mercy. The WWE Raw set and the ring were damaged and torn apart. Guys like Skip Sheffield and Heath Slater were outright vicious and nasty, destroying everyone in their path. Justin Gabriel, who was a pretty boy flashy babyface, was giving homicidal looks and killing Cena with the 450 Splash. Daniel Bryan, who was pigeonholed as the internet darling was out there spitting on Cena, kicking him in the head and screaming at him about how he wasn’t better than them. He also infamously choked Justin Roberts with a tie during the carnage, which caused his legitimate release from his WWE contract within that week. Ten years ago, WWE would have let that fly without any repercussions, but this was a different era with different rules.
In a way, that was kind of the point of this angle, of it even happening. It took a massive amount of balls to pull the trigger on the Nexus beatdown because of the severity and the realistic nature of it all in comparison to Raw’s mostly cartoon-culture of the past year and even on that very night. WWE Raw was stultified by a year of the exact same formula in using mostly awful celebrity guest hosts and inane comedy segments. The show was the same-old, same-old, until Wade Barrett and the NXT group brought the winds of change through anyone and everything in their path. It was an amazing beginning, echoing defining moments like The Four Horsemen destroying Dusty Rhodes’ leg or ECW forming during the 2001 Invasion angle. These were events rarely happened and no one could think would be possible in the safe WWE environment of 2010. That’s why it worked so well and also why the following months were sometimes frustrating during the weeks when WWE didn’t portray Nexus as strongly as that amazing first week.
Ryan Byers: There are a lot of things in professional wrestling which used to be meaningful that now can’t get a crowd reaction because they’re so horribly overdone. Take, for example, a wrestler losing a match because he was distracted by one of his rivals. It used to be that was a heavy angle which would almost guarantee a hot feud. However, nowadays it seemingly happens on a weekly basis and fans couldn’t care less ninety percent of the time. In order to really hook fans and capture their imaginations, you’ve got to give them something that they don’t necessarily see every week. That’s the primary reason that Nexus’ debut worked so well. Not only is it something that you don’t see every week, but it’s the type of angle that WWE almost NEVER does. For whatever reason, the company doesn’t like to portray outside groups (even when they’re really inside groups) as threats to their homegrown stars, so it was quite shocking to see this band of men who, in storyline, weren’t under WWE contract, laying out the promotion’s top star and decimating the Monday Night Raw set. It was memorable because it was different and because it established not just one wrestler but seven as legitimate threats right out of the gate. Granted, the follow up wasn’t nearly as strong as it could have been and the group may as well be the Spirit Squad at this point, but, for one night only, they were what every wrestling fan was talking about and created the most memorable moment of 2010.
Michael Ornelas: Nine years from now when we’re doing a “Best of the Decade” column, this may still very well be in consideration for a top moment. This was shocking TV that IMMEDIATELY changed the atmosphere of the WWE and garnered a ton of interest. In a PG WWE Universe, this was absolutely shocking. Wade Barrett led the attack while Daniel Bryan provided the brutality (which as we all know got him “fired”) and the rest of the crew brought the mayhem. Seeing John Cena brutalized like that was unreal and it’s a shame Dancin’ Danny B was “remorseful” because I think a Nexus with Bryan as second-in-charge could have eventually led to an incredible dissolution story. Fantasy booking aside this was the first attack but not the last. The next week they surrounded the ring and brutalized the WWE Legends which was another incredible segment. It got to the point that you’d get goosebumps whenever they surrounded the ring because you knew what was going to happen, but you still wanted to see it. These guys did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, however they wanted and no one was going to tell them otherwise. They even beat down Vince McMahon! Shocking segment that kick-started what ended up being voted the feud/storyline of the year here on 411.
Honorable Mentions:
ROH Glory By Honor IX (9.11.10) – 4 Points
TNA Lockdown (4.18.10) – 4 Points
WWE Money in the Bank (7.18.10) – 6 Points
3rd Place: ROH Final Battle (12.18.10) – 8 points
2nd Place: WWE Wrestlemania XXVI (3.28.10) – 22 points
And your winner is…:
Len Archibald: We at 411 are the following: Blind indy fanboy virgins, basement-dwelling nerd-herders who have never touched – or been within fifteen feet of the naked female form, sweaty, fat, coke-bottle spectacled geeks who chomp on Twinkies and take professional wrestling way too seriously for our own good. We worship child murderers, Japs, vanilla midgets who will never draw a dime and flippity-floppy spot monkeys the size of Michael Jackson at his heaviest. We all live with our mothers who have insisted all our lives that we are “special”. We were probably picked on heavily during our school years, stuffed in lockers, had our lunch money taken away from us and carry a chip on our shoulders in regards to “mainstream appeal”. We would rather listen to hipster indie music than embrace anything Top 40, or we are heavy metal demonoids, hell-bent on seeing the ultimate demise of the WWE and any mainstream professional wrestling promotion. We are right and the rest of the world is wrong. We live the saddest, loneliest existence imaginable, writing for a wrestling website for free so we can share our lowly opinions that no one gives a damn about, but do anyways so we have some semblance of a “voice” because we are too cowardly to have one in the real world. Despite all of these, it should come to no surprise that we chose a Ring Of Honor pay-per-view as the best of the year. C’mon, you clicked on the link, licking at your super superior chomps to tease us all that we felt that no-names like Tyler Black and Davey Richards would have one of the best matches of the year, or that those midgets the Kings of Wrestling would pull out all the stops against those bland flippity-floppity Briscoes. Of course we would lay praise over a match between Generico (GET IT? GENERIC-O! BWAHAHAHAHAHA) vs. Steen, two people who would probably wouldn’t even be sniffed at by the WWE to even be “future endeavored”. We should be ashamed of ourselves, and you, dear readers, should take every opportunity to blast us and call us every dirty, rotten name in the book. C’mon, let it out! Make your voices (words) heard (read)! Tell us how much we suck. It won’t change the final decision, but I’m sure you’ll feel better about yourselves when you type out your venom.
Ari Berenstein: A five-star match of the year, a four-and-a-half star no-disqualification tag team title defense with blood, brawling, weapons and everything else, the first-ever singles match between two hated rivals that rocked the audience and a fantastic competition between a returning ROH legend and a fantastically-gifted young gun—that’s just four of the matches on the card and already it adds up to a show of the year and in fact, easily one of ROH’s top ten shows of all-time.
What makes a stacked card like Death Before Dishonor so impressive is that every match is well-wrestled and either tells a story or has a purpose, even undercard bouts like All-Night Express against Up in Smoke which is meant to push the ANX up the tag ladder or the second-annual Toronto Gauntlet where the wrestles are trying to win a future title shot (won by Strong, which he would cash in at the next iPPV). The only non-decisive finish was the Aries vs. Delirious bout, but it was a solid grudge brawl, had some very unique moments (like Delirious blowing the black mist) and served to further the feud.
Then of course, the feature bouts Generico vs. Steen, Omega vs. Daniels in a fantastic match that combined athleticism and technical ability, Briscoes vs. Kings of Wrestling and Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards all live up to or exceeded the hype and the potential. Steen vs. Generico one-on-one was the fight everyone was waiting to see for six months and the jump-start of the show with Generico demanding it happening right away was perfect wrestling storytelling. The main-event title bout is a defining moment for both wrestlers and just a hell of an effort with a crowd reaction and atmosphere to match. There is even an unexpected angle that occurred in intermission (included on the DVD version as well) with the Steen and Generico brawl and choking incident.
ROH’s wrestling matches and wrestling storylines have always been their greatest strength—and this Pay Per View put its best foot forward when it came to those qualities. Don’t forget, this show was also only $14.95, as opposed to higher-priced WWE and TNA shows. In other words, fans were getting exceedingly more bang for their spending dollar when they sat down to watch this show as opposed to many of the top two promotions’ offerings. Death Before Dishonor VIII was a show where ROH gave it all and kept giving more.
Aaron Hubbard: To say this was the best wrestling show of the year doesn’t really do justice to the show. This show started with a match that would have stolen the show on a typical WWE or TNA PPV in El Generico vs. Kevin Steen. And while the rest of the second half was nothing to really write home about (though nothing was really bad either), the show would only continue to get better. Intermission so a wild brawl between Generico and Steen which saw Generico choke out Steen with a tie in a nod to Bryan Danielson’s recent WWE firing. Then, the second half of the show started with a huge bang as Christopher Daniels and Kenny Omega put on a brilliant exhibition match that stole the show. Up next was a wild, bloody brawl between The Kings of Wrestling and The Briscoes that stole the show AGAIN. At this point, the PPV was already worth far more that the $15 I payed to watch the show. But then came the main event: Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards for the ROH World Title, perhaps the most anticipated title match in ROH for the entire year. Davey and Tyler put on an incredible match that proved they deserved to be in the main event. It was a five-star classic and one of the best matches in Ring of Honor history. For me, it came at a critical time as I was so fed up with WWE and wrestling in general that I was ready to say goodbye. This match, and this show as a whole, renewed my passion for wrestling. If you are a wrestling fan, you owe it to yourself to watch this show at some point.
Larry Csonka: I have to admit, I was very glad to see this show get the nod as PPV of the year. It topped my list overall, and much deservedly so. ROH and DGUSA delivered the best out of anyone on PPV in 2010, and they deserve to be honored for that. To me the show was the most well paced of any PPV, and also featured good wrestling. Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards {****¾}, as well as Kevin Steen vs. El Generico {***½} really anchored the show in my opinion, and also featured a very solid undercard, sound booking, and NO BULLSHIT that did not belong. That is all I ask. Guys working hard, sound booking and no bullshit. The card featured all of this and simply was a joy to watch, and also rewatch. While DGUSA gave them a run for their money, this was my show of the year.
Honorable Mentions:
Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (RoH Final Battle 2010: 12.18.10) – 8 Points
Kurt Angle vs. Mr. Anderson (TNA Lockdown: 4.18.10) – 4 Points
Motor City Machine Guns vs. Beer Money, Inc. (TNA Impact 08.12.10) – 3 Points
3rd Place: Beer Money vs. The Motor City Machineguns (TNA Victory Road: 7.11.10) – 11 points
2nd Place: Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards (ROH Death Before Dishonor VIII: 6.19.10) – 18 points
And your winner is…:
Aaron Hubbard: To accurately tell the story of this match requires going through over a decade’s worth continuity. From their original feud in 1997 to Shawn’s quest to be the best that brought them face to face in the 2007 Royal Rumble. From Michaels retiring Ric Flair at Wrestlemania XXIV, going through The Year From Hell with Batista, Chris Jericho and JBL to ultimately failing to get his redemption by ending Undertaker’s streak at Wrestlemania XXV. It all build up to this match. What Shawn and Undertaker created in that ring was not just a wrestling match, but a work of art. Watching them not try to outdo their match from last year, but rather build off of it to create something new entirely, was amazing to watch. In my estimation, the deeper psychology, lack of fooling around by Michaels, the insane moves they tried to take each other out with and the dramatic finish outdid the previous effort. A more fitting end to a career there never was. While there have been matches that I feel stand better on their own merits (Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards, for example), no match has the rich history that this one has; it says a lot that in a year with THREE five-star classics (this, Black-Richards and Steen vs. Generico), this is still an easy pick for #1 in my eyes.
Ryan Byers: For the second year in a row, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker were the top attraction for the majority of fans purchasing Wrestlemania, and, for the second year in a row, they used that platform to put on what 411mania writers have voted the Match of the Year. In some ways, it was almost guaranteed to receive consideration for match of the year before the two set foot into the ring. Why? It’s not just because they’re two talented in-ring performers. It’s because, when you’ve got a storyline that captures fans’ imagination to a certain point, they’ll allow themselves to believe that the resulting match is a classic even if it would be middling in any other context. Michaels and the Undertaker had that kind of storyline. However, the great thing about the match is that, even though they had the sort of story that would allow them to phone it in and still get a great response if they wanted to, they DIDN’T phone it in. They busted out virtually every big move that they could think of and played off of numerous spots from last year’s epic match in a way that would keep even some non-wrestling fans on the edge of their seats. As things stand now, the match may legitimately have been Michaels’ last one ever in his career. If it is, he has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. He went out on a virtually perfect note.
Benjamin Waller: This 24 Minute WrestleMania send-off for Shawn Michaels was arguably the best match of the year.. With the likes of Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards and Kevin Steen against El Generico, this is an interesting winner for match of the year. WWE is in it’s most criticized era as of late, and in this match it proved that the WWE still entertains fans just as much as any other wrestling company in the World. Michaels foreshadowed the ‘Mania match at the Slammy Awards in 2009, saying he would defeat the Undertaker at WrestleMania given the opportunity for a second time. This was taken realistically by the WWE Universe when Michaels cost ‘Taker his World Title and was a serious threat to the Phenom and his amazing feat of being undefeated at WrestleMania. Michaels became obssessed with the fact that he wanted to beat the streak that he broke himself off from Triple H and DX to focus on WrestleMania. The psychology and passion that was shown in Michaels’ corner was amazing, and no-one actually new whether Michaels would actually retire (lose) or not (win)- which is the whole point of a culminative match. The match proved itself to be a full on match, going straight into the thick of the wrestling jungle and (I hate to use the forthcoming cliche but..) pulling out all the stops to truly make the live and television audience feel like they were watching something special- and it definately was as this was voted match of the year by WWE fans and 411wrestling staff. The symbolic cut-throat action made by Michaels in the closing of the match will be remembered forever by WWE viewers and fans, and showed Michaels had the determination and balls to win- but couldn’t quite pull it out when he really needed and flared ‘Taker once again as THE man to beat at WrestleMania as the streak becomes more and more important as the WWE goes on.
Stephen Randle: You can be as cynical about the retirement stipulation as you want, because hell, Ric Flair was wrestling again within two years, but the retirement of Shawn Michaels, sad as it may be, is not what this match was about. This match was a showcase of two of the greatest WWE Superstars in history, putting everything on the line to determine, once and for all, who was the better man. These men had faced each other in an incredible match just one year previous, and his failure to end the streak ate away at Shawn Michaels. Determined to earn a rematch, Shawn alienated his friends, stooped to new depths, and did everything in his power to get the Deadman’s attention. After costing Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship, HBK finally had what he wanted, but at a horrible price: for his second chance to end the streak, Shawn Michaels had to put up his career.
Going into the match that night, the fans were clearly divided. The Undertaker’s Streak is possibly the most marketable winning streak in pro wrestling history, but a wrestling world without Shawn Michaels was nearly unimaginable. And with that in mind, but men tore into each other from the opening bell. It was a showcase of the best of both men’s arsenals, neither holding back. And while it wasn’t a technical masterpiece, or a flurry of high-flying moves, it was a dramatic spectacle of mammoth proportions, with an ending that would change the landscape of professional wrestling forever. After having thrown everything he could at the Undertaker and failed to extract a pinfall or submission, knowing he could not defeat his adversary, Shawn Michaels still refused to lay down, pulling himself up into the Undertaker’s face and demanding that the Deadman finish the job. One aggressive Tombstone later, the match was over, and with it, the career of one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time. For the drama, the emotion, and the sheer intensity of their final match, there could be no other choice for Match of the Year.
Honorable Mentions:
Paul Bearer (WWE) – 9 Points
Prince Nana (RoH) – 3 Points
3rd Place: Shane Hagadorn (ROH) – 10 points
2nd Place: Vickie Guerrero (WWE) – 23 points
And your winner is…:
Ryan Byers: It’s no surprise to anybody reading this that managing is a lost art. Aside from Vickie Guerrero, who is a very polarizing figure who will as a result never win this award, there really aren’t that many pure managers left in mainstream professional wrestling. That’s why, this year, we had to go out and include NXT “Pros” as managers. As far as the Pros were concerned, I don’t think that any of them did a better job of truly managing their rookie than Chris Jericho did with Wade Barrett. Most Pros felt like they were just tacked on because they needed to be there and some even stole a fair amount of the spotlight from the person who they were supposedly mentoring. However, Jericho went out of his way to do what any good manager does, i.e. put over the wrestler with whom he’s affiliated. Everything that Y2J did while he was on screen with Wade Barrett was geared towards talking up the Brit and accentuating his strengths while hiding his weaknesses. Though a large part of Wade’s NXT victory was his own natural talent, I have a hard time believing that he would have gotten as far as he did if not for the fact that Jericho was out there making him look like a bigger star than he would have if he were left to his own devices.
Aaron Hubbard: What does it say about Chris Jericho that in the span of three months, he can completely wrap up a category that in many ways is dead and gone? (TALK ABOUT BARRETT!) Chris Jericho is one of those rare performers that is fantastic in every role. (TALK ABOUT BARRETT!) If it’s a great match you need, he delivers; if it’s a great promo you need, he delivers. (TALK ABOUT BARRETT!) And this year, we learned that Jericho would make an excellent manager for any young wrestler. (TALK ABOUT BARRETT!) His work with Wade Barrett did a lot for the Brit’s credability and helped him on his road to superstardom. (TALK ABOUT BARRETT!) I AM talking about Barrett! (MORE!) Sigh. At any rate, Jericho deserves this award for being everything a manager should be, even if it was just a short amount of time….and Barrett is pretty awesome too.
Michael Ornelas: While NXT was only 16 weeks for its first season and Chris Jericho didn’t appear on every episode, he put Wade Barrett over SO WELL and that’s all a manager is really supposed to do. He didn’t do the normal “manager gets involved and causes tainted victory” shtick; he just talked his guy up as the best from the start and by the end, we all believed it. It was simple, but it was really effective. I honestly think that even though Barrett has a great presence on his own, he was able to break away from the pack very quickly thanks to his affiliation with Chris Jericho.
Benjamin Waller: Thinking of managers this year, and who has achieved the most.. I think Shane Hagadorn. Hagadorn has lead the American Wolves and the Kings of Wrestling to the ROH Tag Team titles, and playing his part well in the Briscoe Family/KoW feud. But the winner of this year’s manager of the year is Chris Jericho. Jericho only being a manager for now well renouned NXT ‘rookie’ Wade Barrett, has set Jericho to be the manager of the year. The pairing of Barrett and Jericho was phenomenal, Barrett the outspoken talent and Jericho as the successful champion who was out to prove his NXT rookie was the best.. and he kept to his words. With Barrett winning the first ever season of the show, he broke out to a massive level in feuding with WWE’s face of 2010: John Cena. Leading the newly formed Nexus, Barrett has achieved so much in so little time- and this is all thanks to a strong supporting character in WWE Pro Chris Jericho. His personality blended well with Barrett’s proposed personality: that of a smarmy, overconfident, modest straight up heel. Jericho’s success as a manager is through Wade Barrett’s success after (and during) NXT Season 1, as Y2J led Barrett throughout the first season of NXT into the top of his potential, and floating Barrett onto the cusp of a WWE Championship reign going into 2010. Chris Jericho, 411Wrestling’s Manager of the Year.
Honorable Mentions:
Claudio Castagnoli & Ares (CHIKARA) – 4 Points
The Hart Dynasty (WWE) – 2 Points
Speed Muscle (Drgaon Gate) – 1 Point
3rd Place: Beer Money, Inc. (TNA) – 16 points
2nd Place: The Kings of Wrestling (RoH, NOAH, PWG) – 35 points
And your winner is…:
Benjamin Waller: Tag Team wrestling as of late has only been prominent in independent promotions such as PWG and ROH, but the Motor City Machine Guns have stole the spotlight with tag team wrestling in the year of 2010. With the capturing of the TNA Tag Team titles, and wrestling such tag teams as the Kings of Wrestling, the Young Bucks (now known as Generation Me) and a breathtaking best of 5 series with Beer Money Incorperated. Tag Team wrestling hasn’t been given much of a chance in recent times in top promotions, with companies not making their tag titles as important as they obviously should be. Chikara only has tag team championships to make sure none of their talent has a hierarchy as to who is better than who in a ladder of contendership.. though in the year of 2010, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley has shown the World that they can be the primitive tag team in the wrestling business today. The Best of 5 series with Beer Money was really something to behold coming from the critically acclaimed TNA wrestling. The Machine Guns as a tag team have always been good, and for years fans were striving for them to win the tag team championships in TNA, and until July 11th at Victory Road when the Guns won the vacant titles in an Ultimate X match. This year, the team have retired Tag Team veterans Team 3D, won the tag championship, put off entertaining and auxilirating tag team contests throughout the year with teams throughout TNA and the indies, and these achievements are why here on 411wrestling, we have decided the Motor City Machine Guns are the best tag team of 2010.
Aaron Hubbard: Modified From The Contentious Ten Tag Teams of 2010: The Motor City Machine Guns have excelled in every situation they’ve been put in this year. As challengers, they’ve been fan favorites for years. As champions, they have defended against the likes of Beer Money, GenerationMe and Team 3D, and have had classic or near classic matches with all of them. Beyond TNA, they continue to deliver excellent matches in various indies and had a nearly flawless match with the Kings of Wrestling at Supercard of Honor, before the Briscoes interfered at least. Shelley and Sabin are like the modern d Rockers, bringing high-energy, high-flying, innovative offense. They adapt their style to suit their opponents and constantly deliver: along with Kurt Angle, they have been a major reason for why TNA still continues to deliver excellent matches on Pay-Per-View. The fantastic year the Machine Guns have had is proof that when TNA keeps it simple and lets the talent deliver, it can be an awesome company. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are, almost without argument, the Tag Team of 2010.
Greg DeMarco: Despite all of the failures we love to pin on Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff since taking the reigns of TNA, they have gotten one thing right: The Motor City Machine Guns. We (the internet) have been begging for TNA to push the Guns for quite a while now, and it’s under the Hogan/Bischoff regime that they sit atop the tag team division in TNA. Two wrestlers with “talent on loan from God,” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin have skills capable of carrying the X-Division, but they’re using those to carry the tag team division instead. The Guns have had two stellar feuds in 2010, with Beer Money (including quite possibly the best free TV matches of the year) and Generation Me. It appears TNA finally saw what they had in Sabin & Shelley in 2010, and I hope they have continued success in 2011.
Michael Ornelas: They finally did it! The Motor City Machine Guns Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin have been teaming for a long time now, but it took them until this year to finally capture TNA tag team gold. Since then, they’ve been on fire putting on killer matches with Beer Money, Generation Me, and then Kings of Wrestling at Supercard of Honor V (despite the screwy ending that most people hated). I’m a big fan of these two as singles wrestlers AND as a tag team, and I’m glad that even though they’ve faced off against one another a few times, they haven’t split up. Not all teams have to split up and feud against each other (the American Wolves is a good example of a team that is separate but don’t hate each other), and I hope TNA continues to recognize the value in these guys as a team. Hopefully they hold onto the belts until they can have a meaningful feud with a team that’s not Beer Money and not lose the titles on a whim or random pointless title switch that happen more and more in today’s wrestling scene.
Honorable Mentions:
Amazing Kong (RoH, SHIMMER) – 1 Point
Michelle McCool (WWE) – 11 Points
MsChif (SHIMMER) – 12 Points
Natalya (WWE) – 5 Points
3rd Place: Madison Eagles (SHIMMER) – 13 points
2nd Place: Daizee Haze (RoH, CHIKARA, SHIMMER) – 23 points
And your winner is…:
Ari Berenstein: One of the busiest female wrestlers on the independent scene today, from Ring of Honor to SHIMMER to CHIKARA and everywhere in-between, no one had the presence and the ability to provide great women’s wrestling in 2010 more than “The Queen of Wrestling” Sara Del Rey. I personally voted this category a tie between Del Rey and Haze (as both teaming up together as heels in CHIKARA has been super entertaining and enjoyable). Ultimately, it is Del Rey who has been the most consistent and dominant wrestler of the two in all of those promotions. She has defeated Haze in most of their major matches, plus she has a win against Awesome Kong in New York City during ROH’s Supercard of Honor V. She can hang with the males as well, kicking the butt of The Osirian Portal and even Mike Quackenbush in CHIKARA. Meanwhile, Del Rey has found a comfortable voice with her promos in Ring of Honor and her hanging with The Kings of Wrestling meant more interaction and exposure during their programs. Strong, tough and a consummate professional wrestler, Del Rey worked very hard in 2010 and earned every bit of the success and high reputation, not to mention this year’s 411Mania award for best women’s wrestler of the year.
Ryan Byers: Saral Del Rey dominated the women’s divisions of so many different independent wrestling promotions this year that it’s almost impossible not to declare her the female wrestler of the year. First and foremost, Sara remained THE first lady of Ring of Honor throughout 2010. Though the Women of Honor are never a focal point of the promotion, when the Women do have an opportunity to showcase their talents, Death Rey is right there and she is the most talented performer in virtually all of their matches. In addition to that, there is a second independent promotion in which Del Rey was allowed to be a bit more of a focal point his year. I’m talking about CHIKARA, where Sara and fellow femme fatale Daizee Haze (who actually tied Sara for this award on my ballot) spent 2010 as a tag team within the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes stable, wrestling and beating the majority of the company’s top male teams this year and at one point qualifying for a shot at the company’s tag team titles. Of course, another league where Sara is almost always showcased is SHIMMER. Though she was not the group’s champion during 2010, she did have numerous impressive performances for them, mixing it up with Japanese talents Hiroyo Matsumoto, Misaki Ohata, and Ayumi Kurihara in addition to helping put over younger wrestlers like Jessie McKay, Rachel Summerlyn, and Tenile Tayla. To top it all off, there was one company where SDR did hold the Women’s Title for the majority of the year, namely long-running indy Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Sara had successful high profile defenses of the JAPW strap against the likes of Hailey Hatred and LuFisto, and her slot as Jersey All Pro Champ also helped her snag some appearances on shows from TNA, with whom JAPW seems to have a close relationship when they’re in the northeast. More than virtually any other woman in the sport, Sara Del Rey was popping up in numerous places earning numerous accolades, and the result of that is one more accolade . . . . being the 411Mania Women’s Wrestler of the Year.
Jeremy Thomas: In what was a fairly sad year for women’s wrestling among the Big Two, we look to the independent circle once again to find our Women’s Wrestler of the Year and Sara Del Ray certainly earned it. Del Ray more or less tore a path of wreckage through the independents in 2010, winning five of her eight appearances for SHIMMER while at the same time rocking it in ROH alongside the Kings of Wrestling. She successfully held onto the JAPW Women’s Title through a number of defenses against the likes of LuFisto and Ayumi Kurihara. She beat Awesome Kong at Supercard of Honor…and this is even before we get into her impressive work in CHIKARA, her winning an NWA Women’s tournament in June and more. Del Ray is undoubtedly one of the top women working in professional wrestling today, and in 2010 she certainly came to the forefront as one of the biggest talents in that particular facet of the business.
Michael Ornelas: Sara was on fire this year and no one can tell me that since it’s the indies it’s worthless. She had distinct personalities all over the place and her versatility is what got her this award this year. I don’t watch much SHIMMER, so I can’t really speak for her there other than that I’ve heard great things (and plan on catching myself up on SHIMMER in 2011. It’s one of my resolutions). In Ring of Honor, she was attached to the Kings of Wrestling stable with Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, and Shane Hagadorn, where she was referred to as the Queen of Wrestling. Her association with the group was simply that, as she was able to still stand out on her own with her feud against Daizee Haze and her matches with Awesome Kong. On HDNet, she would semi-regularly dominate opponents, demanding competition along the way, and I don’t think she lost cleanly in the company all year (although I’m not saying that as fact). Meanwhile in CHIKARA, she joined forces with Daizee Haze looking for better competition (although here they meant competing with men) and joined the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes, the stable that dominated and terrorized CHIKARA for most of the year. Sara has been the stand-out female wrestler this year and has kept herself busy all over the place.
Honorable Mentions:
Bryan “Daniel Bryan” Danielson (WWE) – 8 Points
Masato Yoshino (Dragon Gate) – 9 Points
The Miz (WWE) – 7 Points
Tyler Black (RoH) – 3 Points
3rd Place: Davey Richards (RoH) – 12 points
2nd Place: Kurt Angle (TNA) – 22 points
And your winner is…:
Len Archibald: In all actuality, this was a pretty cut-and-dry affair; I personally picked Kane because of his elevation by burying The Undertaker, but I am not mad at all for this. In reality, the moment that Randy Orton was basically chosen by the fans to turn on his Legacy stable that he created, the writing was on the wall. The moment he broke out “The Pose” at WrestleMania XXVI, most of us knew he would be embroiled in most of the main storylines of 2010. I still think WrestleMania XXVII ends with Orton holding the WWE title high as the newly crowned anti-hero face that most of us wanted him to be, and to be honest – if that happens, he deserved it.
Ari Berenstein: He hears voices in his head, and they should be telling him that he is 411Mania’s Wrestler of the Year. I think some would say this is a controversial call, as he is often either loved or hated, or both, much like John Cena. Yet, like John Cena, Orton was the center of attention for much of the year…and many major angles and title matches went through him. Orton’s popularity was at an all-time high by the middle of the year, as fans clearly chose him over Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes in the Legacy break-up. Using him in the “Stone-Cold” position as a tweener who believed in serving his own interests worked and connected with the fan base, even the kids, who as they are growing older in the John Cena-era are likely to find a bond with an anti-hero. At the end of the year he remains hugely over and remains likely to be so for the foreseeable future.
Ryan Byers: I have to be honest. It was difficult to pick a Wrestler of the Year in 2010. Usually, when I try to select a Wrestler of the Year, I try to think of the guy who, more than anybody else, was THE man for his promotion, the wrestler who, if you took him out of the equation, would result in his company not being at nearly the level it would be otherwise. The selection was hard this year because, in this year more than any other in recent memory, it felt like there were NONE of those guys. A lot of that has to do with the fact that, more and more, WWE is promoting itself in such a way that the WWE brand itself is what is supposed to draw fans in as opposed to any one star wrestler, which is a significant change from how they used to operate. However, to the extent that a guy like this did exist in WWE, the largest wrestling promotion in the world, it had to be Randy Orton. Though he spent the early part of the year in an undercard feud with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Jr. that did no favors for anybody involved, after that it was straight to the WWE Title picture for Orton, and he never looked back. Coming out of a championship match at Fatal Four Way where Sheamus walked away with the title, Orton was in the championship feud that headlined Monday Night Raw, targeting the Irishman and ultimately taking the belt off of him at Night of Champions. Orton, though a big miscast as a babyface, his been in the championship mix more consistently than virtually anybody else in the wrestling business, and he’s also been one of the business’ most consistent performers both in the ring and on the microphone. In 2010, that’s enough to qualify you as Wrestler of the Year.
Greg DeMarco: “The Apex Predator” performed one of the craziest stunts of 2010. He successfully turned face. This man attacked legends, going so far as to call himself “The Legend Killer.” He punted multiple superstars off of the roster, including Vince McMahon himself. He was the internet whipping boy for quite some time, and that has softened as well. In 2010, he decisively won his feud against Legacy, carried on a great feud with Sheamus, and played a big part in the end of the John Cena-Nexus storyline. Orton was booked to look strong, and it paid off. I think it’s safe to assume that Randy will sit firmly atop the WWE’s booking plans in 2011.
Thank you for joining us for the 2010 411wrestling.com Year End Wrestling Awards!
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