It's December, so what do you thnk. Any locks this year?

"CATEGORY A" AWARDS.

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD -
2. MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER:
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER:
4. MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER:
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW -
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR -
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR -
8. MOST IMPROVED -
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS -
10. MOST CHARISMATIC -
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER -
12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD -
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER -
14. MOST OVERRATED -
15. MOST UNDERRATED -
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR -
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW -
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR -
19. MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR -
20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR -
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER -
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER -
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER -
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW -

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR -
2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER -
3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC -
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW -
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR -
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR -
7. WORST PROMOTION -
8. BEST BOOKER -
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR -
10. BEST GIMMICK -
11. WORST GIMMICK -
12. BEST WRESTLING BOOK -
13. BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD -

I have omitted the mma stuff, because I don't care.

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - Randy Orton
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: Christian
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - John Cena
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - Rey Misterio vs. Chris Jericho
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - Chris Jericho and Big Show
8. MOST IMPROVED - Kofi Kingston
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - CM Punk
10. MOST CHARISMATIC - John Cena
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Bryan Danielson
12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD - Mike Knox
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Kota Ibushi
14. MOST OVERRATED - John Morrison
15. MOST UNDERRATED - The Miz
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR - UFC
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - ECW
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio--The Bash
20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Swagger?
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - Tony Atlas
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Matt Striker
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Michael Cole
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW - Survivor Series

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR - n/a
2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER - Sliding D
3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC - Akitoshi Saito using the backdrop after Misawa's death
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - Raw
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR - Sharmell vs. Jenna
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - Orton vs. Triple H
7. WORST PROMOTION - TNA
8. BEST BOOKER - whoever the hell writes ECW
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Dana White

I sould probably point out that most over and underated is not in the way most people think, it is based on push. Overrated is who has the biggest push who doens't deserve it and underrated is who has the worst push but deserves a higher one.

It's a shame there isn't a comeback award for Goldust.

Most improved? He was horrible in his TNA run.

A quick perusal shows me that the only times in the last 20 years or so a wrestler has won it in a comeback sort of way was Vader in 99 and Mutoh in 2001.* Maybe Smothers in 93, but I don't get that. He was awesome in his late WCW run. In general, I guess it's been used to signify a comeback once or twice but certainly rarely compared to other purposes.


*Please note that I have no idea if that applies to Morishima or not.

I guess you could use Underrated for that premise, even though normally, it's gone to someone who is a good worker usually saddled in the lower to mid card (Terry Taylor, Bobby Eaton).

Goldust is underated. That is now my pick. Only every other catgeroy to figure out. This year is tough.

My ballot was alot more WWE heavy than it has ever been. I still watch everything, sans TNA, but WWE has probably been the best pr0duct I've watched this year. In retrospect, I agree on Goldust as underrated, but stand by Morrison as overrated.

Never participated in one of these threads before. If I've left a blank, I'll return to it:

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - Randy Orton
2. MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER - Brock Lesnar
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER - Christian
4. MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER - Georges St-Pierre
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - Brock Lesnar
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - Chris Jericho/Big Show
8. MOST IMPROVED - Kofi Kingston
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - CM Punk
10. MOST CHARISMATIC - CM Punk
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Bryan Danielson
12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD - Mike Knox
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - AJ Styles
14. MOST OVERRATED - Kozlov (will probably come back to this)
15. MOST UNDERRATED - The Miz
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR - UFC
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - Smackdown
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 25
19. MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR - Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Randy Couture, UFC 102
20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - N/A
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - N/A
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Matt Striker
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Michael Cole
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW - Backlash for wrestling though I'd pick UFC 100 overall.

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR - TNA Victory Road by a long margin but for disappointment, WrestleMania 25.
2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER - Codebreaker
3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC - Knife-wielding Samoa Joe
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - Raw
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR - Sharmell vs. Jenna
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - Orton vs. Triple H
7. WORST PROMOTION - TNA
8. BEST BOOKER - I'd like to give it to Michael Hayes for Smackdown.
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Dana White
10. BEST GIMMICK - Straight-edge CM Punk
11. WORST GIMMICK - Knife-wielding Samoa Joe
12. BEST WRESTLING BOOK - N/A
13. BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD - N/A

"CATEGORY A" AWARDS.

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - Hiroshi Tanahashi
2. MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER: Brock Lesner
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: KENTA
- Runner Ups: Bryan Danielson
4. MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER: Anderson Silva
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - Brock Lesner
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - Mistico-Negro Casas
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - Young Buck$
- Runner Ups: American Wolves & Volador & Sombra
8. MOST IMPROVED - Davey Richards
- Runner Up: Mike Knox
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - Jim Cornette
- Runner Ups: Chris Jericho & CM Punk
10. MOST CHARISMATIC - Negro Casas
- Runner Ups: Nr. Niebla, Kenny Omega
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Negro Casas
12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD - Togi Makabe
- Runner Ups: Yuji Nagata & Finlay
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Young Buck$
- Runner Ups: Kota Ibushi, Prince Devitt
14. MOST OVERRATED - Tiger Mask IV
15. MOST UNDERRATED - Kaval
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR - Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - CMLL Ras de Lona
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - KENTA v. Katsuhiro Nakajima; NOAH 3/1/09
- Runner Ups: Hiroshi Tanahashi v. Takashi Sugiura, NJPW 7/20/09; Young Buck$ v. 2 Skinny Black Guys, PWG 7/31/09; HBK-Taker; Mistico v. Negro Casas, CMLL 3/20/09
19. MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR - Ben Henderson v. Donald Cerrone; WEC 10/10/09
- Runner Ups: Uriah Faber v. Mike Brown, WEC 6/7/09 & Diego Sanchez v. Clay Guida; UFC 6/20/09
20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Frightmare
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - YOSHIHIKO's handler
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Mike Hogwood
- Runner Ups: Jim Ross & Joe Rogan
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Michael Cole
- Runner Ups: Dave Prazak & Jerry Lawler
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW - WEC 6/7/09

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR - WWE Royal Rumble
2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER - Boma Ye
3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC - WWE size fetish (making fun of women you aren't waifs, protecting guys on top who are on steroids while suspending & firing lower level guys who are on steroids. Making fun of the physiques of guys after they're off steroids.)
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - WWE RAW
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR - Randy Orton v. Triple H @ WrestleMania (definitely not the worst, but I tend to avoid everything I imagine will be bad such as Diva matches. This isn't really the worst by any stretch of the imagination, but just the most disappointing.)
- NOTE: I didn't see the infamous Sharmell-Jenna match
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - Chavo v. Hornswoggle
7. WORST PROMOTION - TNA
8. BEST BOOKER - whoever books New Japan....it's really just writing & promoting here now in the states.
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Dana White
10. BEST GIMMICK - Yoshihiko
11. WORST GIMMICK - Psycho Circus
12. BEST WRESTLING BOOK - N/A (haven't read any written this year)
13. BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD - DVDVR New Japan'80s Set
Runner Ups: PWG Threemendous II & PWG DDT4

Pending changes after seeing recent shows.

Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award (Wrestler of the Year):
1. Naruki Doi (Been an incredible success as the company's poster boy for the last year. Has had one epic title match after another and came to the US and had MOTYC's with Shingo and Danielson.)

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi (Was his usual self, that's always good enough for a top three finish. The perfect combination of wrestling ability, charisma and personality)

3. Davey Richards (ROH's biggest draw in 2009. Nobody had the buzz Davey's had on the indies and he's earned it with about a million awesome tags and singles this year.


MMA Most Valuable Fighter:
1. Brock
2. GSP
3. Anderson Silva

Most Outstanding Wrestler:
1. KENTA
2. Shingo
3. Davey Richards

Best Box Office Draw:
1. Brock
2. GSP
3. John Cena

Feud of the Year:
1. CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
2. Jericho vs. Rey
3. Nakamura vs. Tanahashi

Tag Team of the Year:
1. Young Buck$
2. American Wolves
3. Apollo 55 (Devitt & Taguchi)

Most Improved:
1. R-Truth
2. Taichi
3. Kenny King

Best on Interviews:
1. CM Punk
2. Chris Hero
3. Chris Jericho

Most Charismatic:
1. YAMATO
2. Munenori Sawa
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Bet Technical Wrestler:
1. Bryan Danielson
2. Chris Hero
3. Prince Devitt (he doesn't break it out too much, but when he does he's the best in the world. See opening 2 minutes of the Milano match)

Bruiser Brody Memorial Award (Best Brawler):
1. Chris Hero
2. Masato Tanaka
3. Joey Ryan

Best Flying Wrestler:
1. Kota Ibushi
2. PAC
3. Taiji Ishimori

Most Overrated (aka most over-pushed):
1. Team 3D (in TNA and NJPW)
2. Kane
3. Batista (normally I feel Dave deserves his spot, but when you actually look at it, he's been awful this year)

Most Underrated: (aka most underutilised)
1. Evan Bourne
2. R-Truth
3. Shelton Benjamin

Promotion of the Year:
1. PWG
2. Dragon Gate
3. NJPW

Best Weekly TV Show:
1. Dragon Gate: Infinity
2. WWE: Smackdown
3. DDT: Dramatic Fantasia

Most Outstanding Fighter:
1. GSP
2. Nick Diaz

Match of the Year:
1. The Young Bucks vs. Two Skinny Black Guys (Human Tornado & El Generico) (PWG) 7/31
2. KENTA vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH) (3/1)
3. El Generico vs. Shingo (PWG) (7/31)

Fight of the Year:
1. Tokoro vs. Cullum DREAM
2. Cerrone vs. Henderson WEC
3. Guida vs. Sanchez UFC

Rookie of the Year:
1. Frightmare
2. Ryota Hama
3. Atomic Boy

Best Non-Wrestler:
1. Don West
2. Vicky Guerrero
3. Prince Nana

Best Television Announcer:
1. Jim Ross
2. Taz
3. Joe Rogan

Worst Television Announcer:
1. Michael Cole
2. Jerry Lawler

Best Major Show:
1. PWG Threemendous (July 31st)
2. PWG Guerre San Frontieres (September 4th)
3. DGUSA Open The Historic Gate (July 25th)

Catgeory B: Pick ONE for each of the following
1. Worst Major Show of the Year
TNA Victory Road

2. Best Wrestling Maneuver
More Bang For Your Buck (The Young Buck$)

3. Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic
Mickie James is fat angle

4. Worst Television Show of the Year
TNA IMPACT (very close between this and Raw)

5. Worst Wrestling Match of the Year
Jenna vs. Sharmell

6. Worst Feud of the Year
Big Show vs. John Cena

7. Worst Promotion
IWA Mid-South

8. Best Booker
Super Dragon

9. Promoter Of The Year
Sanshiro Takagi (DDT)

10 Best Gimmick
Yoshihiko (DDT Blow Up Doll)

11. Worst Gimmick
ODB

12. Best Wrestling Book
n/a

13. Best DVD
DGUSA "Open The Historic Gate" Set

Alan meant 9/4/09 on the Generico-Shingo match. Looking most forward to that match & that show.

"CATEGORY A" AWARDS.

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - Randy Orton
2. MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER: Brock Lesnar
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: Naruki Doi
4. MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER: Anderson Silva
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - Brock Lesnar
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - Beer Money (awesome year in TNA of all places)
8. MOST IMPROVED - Eddie Edwards
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - CM Punk
10. MOST CHARISMATIC - John Cena
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Bryan Danielson
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Kota Ibushi
14. MOST OVERRATED - Batista
15. MOST UNDERRATED - Goldust
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR - Dragon Gate
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - WWE Superstars
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels, WM 25
19. MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR - Clay Guida vs Diego Sanchez, UFC 6/20
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - Prince Nana
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Matt Striker
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Mike Tenay
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW - DGUSA Open the Historic Gate

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - WWE RAW
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR - Sharmell vs Jenna Morasca
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - Chavo vs Hornswoggle
7. WORST PROMOTION - TNA
8. BEST BOOKER - Mike Quackenbush in CHIKARA
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Dana White

"CATEGORY A" AWARDS.

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - Randy Orton
2. MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER: Brock Lesnar
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: Christian
4. MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER: Anderson Silva
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - Brock Lesnar
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - Chris Jericho & The Big Show
8. MOST IMPROVED - Kofi Kingston
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - CM Punk
10. MOST CHARISMATIC - Jeff Hardy
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Bryan Danielson
12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD - Finlay
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Evan Bourne
14. MOST OVERRATED - Triple H
15. MOST UNDERRATED - Evan Bourne
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR - UFC
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - WWE Smackdown
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - Undertaker vs. HBK WM 25
19. MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR - Haven't seen enough yet
20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Masashi Takeda & Isami Kodaka unless they've been around longer than I think
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - Jim Ross
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Jim Ross
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Mike Tenay
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW - WWE Summerslam

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR - I didn't watch TNA Victory Road but I'd probably take that anyway
2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER - More Bang for Your Buck
3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC - Hell if I know
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - TNA Impact
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR - Same for Sharmell-Morasca as Victory Road, that or Gail Kim vs. Mickie James on Raw
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - Triple H, Batista, and the McMahons vs. Randy Orton
7. WORST PROMOTION - TNA
8. BEST BOOKER - Michael Hayes
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Dana White
10. BEST GIMMICK - The Miz
11. WORST GIMMICK - Shane McMahon
12. BEST WRESTLING BOOK - what's even came out this year?
13. BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD - dunno

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - CM Punk
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: Christian (he's had really good matches with a ton of different opponents)
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - Brock Lesnar
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - JeriShow
8. MOST IMPROVED - Dolph Ziggler
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - Miz
10. MOST CHARISMATIC - Jericho
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Danielson, I suppose
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Evan Bourne
14. MOST OVERRATED - Batista
15. MOST UNDERRATED - Tyson Kidd
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - Smackdown
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels, Wrestlemania 25
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - Prince Nana
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Matt Stryker
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Michael Cole
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW - Dragon Gate USA Enter The Dragon

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR - WrestleMania 25, just because I thought it was a huge letdown. Admittedly, I've seen very few PPVs from this year.
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - TNA Impact
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR -
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - Cryme Tyme vs. Hart Dynasty
7. WORST PROMOTION - TNA
8. BEST BOOKER - Mike Quackenbush
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Guess it's gotta be Dana White, right?
10. BEST GIMMICK - Straight-edge CM Punk
11. WORST GIMMICK - Knife-wielding Samoa Joe
13. BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD - Again, of the ones I've seen, I'll go with the WWE tag teams set.

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - Christian
2. MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER: Brock Lesnar
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: Aerostar
4. MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER: Anderson Silva
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - Brock Lesnar
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - Apaches vs Billy Boy/Sexy Star
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - Sombra/Volador
8. MOST IMPROVED - Goldust
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - CM Punk
10. MOST CHARISMATIC - Kofi Kingston
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Negro Navarro
12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD - Finlay
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Aerostar
14. MOST OVERRATED - Mistico
15. MOST UNDERRATED - Mascara Purpura
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR - WWE
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - ECW
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Mesias Triplemania
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - Bella Twins
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Matt Striker
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER -Mike Tenay
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW -Summerslam

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR - Victory Road
2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER - Evan Bourne SSP
3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC - Was Jack Evans smoking Antonio Pena's ashes this year?
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - Impact
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR - Jenna vs Sharmell
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - Samoa Joe vs Main Event Mafia
7. WORST PROMOTION - NWA
8. BEST BOOKER - Whoever books ECW
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Dana White
10. BEST GIMMICK - Heel CM Punk
11. WORST GIMMICK - Samoa Joe as a whole

Wouldn't "more bang for your buck" be a series of maneuvers, not A maneuver?

Its still listed as a finisher in results, so...no?

What is this move? I keep seeing it being nominated here. Thanks. My nomination is the Codebreaker. I like the look of the move but the biggest selling point of the finisher is that it can come out of nowhere and not a lot can.

Tag team finish of the Young Bucks.

-Matt Jackson does a Fireman's Carry Forward Roll
-Nick Jackson does a 450
-Matt Jackson runs up the ropes and does a moonsault.

It's all done very crisply and quickly, and it's pretty damn impressive.

My only prediction is someone will nominate Kagetora for an award which will prompt Dave to ask Bryan who that is which will then promt Bryan to search his message board for the answer. 6 months to 1 year later Kagetora will be brought over to wrestle for ROH, EVOLVE or whichever new promotion Gabe is running by then and Dave will rave about this Kagetora fella saying he is a can't miss talent and give his match on the show ****3/4. The show with Kagetora will then take place the following night.

Actually my other prediction is everyone who Dave pimps in the 2/3 weeks before the awards issue will win their respective categories. Isn't that how it always works?

Rob

Yes, that's pretty much how it works year round. Dave's sheep always like who he tells them to.

People who are looking for a rookie of the year might want to check out IWRG's "Ringo".

Gotta be Cockstrong.

RIGO. Like the singer. I don't think anyone from Mexico can ever win rookie of the year though b/c they don't qualify unless Meltzer stretches his own rules.

Rob

YOSHIHIKO is the rookie of the year and it's not really close.

Match of the Year (UT/Michaels), biggest draw (Lesnar) and best tag team (JeriShow) all seem like locks and won't really change.

People looking for a Best Book need look no further than WRESTLING IN THE CANADIAN WEST by Vance Nevada.

BINGO

Thirded for truth. Every up and coming wrestler NEEDS to have a copy of Wrestling in the Canadian West. It should be their textbook!

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD
- Randy Orton (runner ups: KENTA, CM Punk)
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER:
- KENTA (runner ups: Rey Mysterio, Christian, Chris Hero)
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW
- John Cena (runner ups: D-Generation-X, Mitsuharu Misawa [living + posthumously])
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR
- CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy (runner ups: Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho)
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR
- Chris Jericho and Big Show (runner ups: Young Bucks, American Wolves)
8. MOST IMPROVED
- Prince Devitt (runner ups: Kofi Kingston, Kotaro Suzuki)
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS
- Kevin Nash (runner ups: CM Punk, Chris Jericho)
10. MOST CHARISMATIC
- Randy Orton (runner ups: Rey Mysterio, Kevin Nash)
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER
- Bryan Danielson (runner ups: Chris Hero, Finlay, Taylor Wilde)
12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD
- Mark Henry (runner ups: Mike Knox, Jay Briscoe)
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER
- Kota Ibushi (runner ups: Evan Bourne, Taiji Ishimori)
14. MOST OVERRATED
- Davey Richards (runner ups: John Morrison, Matt Morgan)
15. MOST UNDERRATED
- Evan Bourne (runner ups: Dolph Ziggler, Mike Knox, The MCMGs)
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR
- PWG (runner ups: UFC, NJPW)
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW
- ECW
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR
- Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio [WWE The Bash] (runner ups: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura [NJPW CIRCUIT 2009 NEW JAPAN ISM], The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels [WWE WrestleMania 25])
20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
- Evan Bourne (runner ups: Jack Swagger, Yoshi Tatsu) [not sure if they're all eligible]
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER
- Vickie Guerrero (runner ups: Santino Marella, Tony Atlas)
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER
- Matt Striker (runner ups: Mike Quackenbush, Todd Grisham)
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER
- Michael Cole (runner ups: Jerry Lawler, Mike Tenay, Taz)
24. BEST MAJOR SHOW
- PWG Threemendous II (runner ups: PWG DDT4 2009, WWE SummerSlam)

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR
- TNA Victory Road (runner ups: WWE WrestleMania 25, TNA Against All Odds)
2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER
- UFO (Claudio Castagnoli) (runner ups: Boma Ye [Shinsuke Nakamura], Air Bourne [Evan Bourne])
3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC
- I guess the the build to Saito/Shiozaki but that's coming from an American perspective, so I guess that's not fair.
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW
- WWE Raw (runner ups: TNA iMPACT!, WWE SmackDown!)
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR
- Sharmell vs. Jenna Morasca (eh... nothing else sticks out to me)
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR
- Randy Orton vs. Triple H (runner ups: Main Event Mafia vs. TNA Front Line, Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show w/ Vickie Guerrero)
7. WORST PROMOTION
- TNA (runner ups: ROH, NOAH)
8. BEST BOOKER
- Ed Koskey [ECW] (runner ups: Super Dragon & co. [PWG], Mike Quackenbush [CHIKARA Pro]
10. BEST GIMMICK
- CM Punk [Holier-than-thou Straight-edge preacher] (runner ups: Chris Jericho [parody of last year's character], Chris Hero [Knockout artist], Zack Ryder [Long Island "Guido"])
11. WORST GIMMICK
- Samoa Joe [Machete-weilding bafoon] (runners up: AJ Styles [sometimes depressed, sometimes angry redneck], Abyss [........])

"CATEGORY A" AWARDS.

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - CM Punk
2. MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER: Brock Lesnar
3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: CM Punk
5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - Jeff Hardy
6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - CM Punk - Jeff Hardy
7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - Beer Money Inc
8. MOST IMPROVED - CM Punk
9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - CM Punk
10. MOST CHARISMATIC - Jeff Hardy
11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Bryan Danielson
12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD - Mike Knox
13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Kota Ibushi
14. MOST OVERRATED - Abyss
15. MOST UNDERRATED - Jack Swagger
16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR - WWE
17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - ECW
18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - CM Punk vs The Undertaker at Smackdown.
20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Yoshi Tatsu
21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - Vickie Guerrero
22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Matt Striker
23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Mike Tenay

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR - Against All Odds
2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER - RKO
4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - RAW
5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR - Jenna vs Sharmell at Victory Road 2009.
6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - MEM vs Frontline
7. WORST PROMOTION - TNA
8. BEST BOOKER - Shanshiro Tagaki
9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Vince McMahon
10. BEST GIMMICK - Yoshihiko
11. WORST GIMMICK - "Nation of Violence" Samoa Joe

Sorry, neither Tatsu or Bourne are anything close to rookies, no matter how you slice it. Tatsu was appearing on New Japan cards since 2004, and Bourne has been in the business for probably 7 or 8 years.

What about Dusty Rhodes being a newcomer in the WWF?


:)

But didn't Ichiro Suzuki get Rookie of The Year his first season in the majors, despite having played ball in Japan for years? The precedent is elsewhere...

If this were "WWE Rookie of the year", then I'd be inclined to agree, but it's pro wrestling rookie of the year.

Tiger Mask IV needs to be on everyone's overrated ballot this year.

He was my pick if you look back.

No way ANY indy should get major show of the year. There is no way a PWG show is in the major category. WWE, TNA, the bigger Japan shows, the big Mexico shows... that's about it.

I've considered that this is probably true since the category makes the distinction by saying, 'Major'. So, in that sense I agree that a PWG show probably doesn't qualify. At the same time, then we need a category for simply 'Best Show'. In which case, I'd probably go Dragon Gate's 7/19/09 PPV as Best 'Major' and then a PWG show (probably Threemendous II) in the 'Best Show' category.

Also, can someone present the argument for Randy Orton for 'Wrestler of the Year'. I'm likely voting for Hiroshi Tanahashi as I can't think of a good argument for anyone to even come close. I really enjoy Randy's work, don't get me wrong, but I just don't see him as having had a qualified year for this award that it appears he's going to win. In ring, he's great, but seldom has the best match on a show. Out of the ring, as an all around perfomer he's probably the best thing on the RAW brand this year and I guess that's where the argument is. However, I perceive Cena & Hunter as being the bigger stars on the brand, so if people are voting for him just because he's 'the guy' on RAW then I'm not sure if that's accurate. In addition he isn't a top draw. Off the top of my head 1 of the only PPVs I can think of that was really driven based upon a match that he was an integral part of was 'Bragging Rights' and that had a really disappointing buy-rate. Most of their PPVs were sold on a gimmick or on more than 1 match. Anyhow, I like Randy's work a ton and I sense that these many votes for him is some sort of referendum on his having matured into such a great performer, but I just don't see his 2009 as a 'Wrestler of the Year' winner.

Shit! These are due in about 3 hours, midnight pacific time 1/14!-----------------------------------

CATEGORY A" AWARDS.

1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD - Chris Jericho, Naruki Doi, Hiroshi Tanahashi

2. MMA MOST VALUABLE FIGHTER: Brock Lesnar, GSP, BJ Penn

3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: -- Bryan Danielson, Shingo, Davey Richards

4. MOST OUTSTANDING FIGHTER: -- George St Pierre, Randy Couture, BJ Penn

5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW - Brock Lesnar, John Cena, GSP

6. FEUD OF THE YEAR - CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho vs Rey Misterio, Taker vs Michaels

7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR - American Wolves, Jericho/Show, Young Bucks

8. MOST IMPROVED - John Morrison, Kenny Omega, Kofi Kingston

9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS - Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Shawn Michaels

10. MOST CHARISMATIC - Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy, John Cena

11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER - Bryan Danielson, Davey Richards, KENTA

12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD - Chris Hero, Finlay, Togi Makabe

13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER - Kota Ibushi, Evan Bourne, Tyson Kidd

14. MOST OVERRATED - HHH, Mark Henry, Tiger Mask IV

15. MOST UNDERRATED - Kenny Omega, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger

16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR - UFC, PWG, DGUSA

17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW - Ring of Honor HD.Net, Ultimate Fighter, WWE Raw

18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR - Davey Richards vs Shingo 9/6, Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels WM25, Bryan Danielson vs Chris Hero 9/4 PWG

19. MMA MATCH OF THE YEAR - Henderson vs Cerrone 10/10, Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida 6/20, Faber vs Brown 6/7

20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Frightmare, Ricky Steamboat Jr, Andy Right Leg Ridge

21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER - Jim Cornette, Vickie Guerrero, Don West

22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Jim Ross, Joe Rogan, Tazz

23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER - Mike Hodgewood, Michael Cole, Mike Tenay

24. BEST MAJOR SHOW - PWG Guerre Sans Frontiers 9/4/09, DG Untouchable 9/6, PWG 7/31/09 "Threemendous"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"CATEGORY B" AWARDS.
1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR - TNA Victory Road

2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER - Young Bucks "More Bang for Your Buck"

3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC - WWE ridiculing Mickie James over her weight

4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW - TNA Impact

5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR - Sharmell vs Jenna Morasco

6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR - HHH vs Randy Orton

7. WORST PROMOTION - TNA

8. BEST BOOKER - Gabe Sapolsky

9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Dana White

10. BEST GIMMICK - CM Punk

11. WORST GIMMICK - The Knife Wielding Samoan Samoa Joe

12. BEST WRESTLING BOOK - Drawing Heat the Hard Way by Larry Matysik

13. BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD -- Rise and Fall of WCW

I would rather listen to the Hog read the phone book than listen to Michael Cole commentate on anything.

Agreed.

I like Hog. Cole & Jerry Lawler...not so much. The only thing I enjoyed on RAW this past week was Cole's line, 'Vintage Tyson'. I laughed.

So I've seen it on a ton of people's ballots and I have to ask, how is Davey Richards considered one of the best technical wrestlers? I can understand people voting for him as most outstanding, even though I don't agree with that at all, but technical? When has anyone ever talked about the great mat wrestling he's done, his great selling, or the ring psychology he has in his matches? His only calling cards are his false finishes and intensity.

From what I've seen this year, Richards has improved in ring psychology. Knowing what to hit and when to hit it which is a big part of what made his matches against KENTA and Shingo so incredible this year.

As far as his selling goes, I really like some of the body language he's picked up. It looks like he picked this up from Benoit's excellent selling as he's using some of his mannerisms.

Mat wrestling is not his whole gimmick as he's an all around type of wrestler but I really like his counters, intensity and technique when applying mat work.

"Technical wrestling" is a meaningless term.

I thought it meant the holds and move looked crisp and well executed and were a main feature of the wrestler's arsenal.

For anyone who knows for certain, are any sort of requirements given to specify what would qualify as a "major show?" I always took the category description to mean signature events from the various companies (like PPVs or major yearly signature events from those promotions that don't do PPV), to differentiate between those kinds of events and a regular show such as an episode of a weekly television show. Is it really an attendance based, or company prominence based category? If attendance and such aren't requirements, I don't see why signature shows from smaller companies like PWG, ROH, DGUSA, or whatever can't qualify.

It is used to describe the "art and science" of professional wrestling. Gordon Solie also referred to it as "a game of human chess." I wouldn't say it was a meaningless term, per se.