Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Year End Awards


Match of the Year
Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin - ROH Showdown in the Sun
Although Elgin didn't come away with the victory and the ROH Title, he earned a lot of respect and turned a lot of heads.  He and Davey put on an absolute masterpiece from start to finish.  The crowd, solidly behind Davey Richards at the start, were on their feet chanting for Elgin by the time the contest ended.  Their match was sound technically, told an amazing story, and got Elgin over as an absolute machine.  Five stars, for sure.

Honorable Mention
Young Bucks vs. Future Shock vs. Super Smash Bros. - PWG Threemendous III
Undertaker vs. Triple H - WWE WrestleMania 28 

Readers Choice: Undertaker vs. Triple H - WWE WrestleMania 28

Wrestler of the Year:
CM Punk
Whether he was the top baby face or the top heel, CM Punk was the only WWE Champion in the year 2012.  With victories over Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Mark Henry, Kane, Ryback, and Dolph Ziggler, just to name a few, there's little doubt that CM Punk is the best wrestler in the world right now, and has been for at least the last 365 days.

Honorable Mention: 
Adam Cole
Daniel Bryan
Dolph Ziggler
Kevin Steen

PPV/Event of the Year:
PWG 2012 Battle of Los Angeles
The 2012 BOLA tournament was absolutely fantastic.  Pro Wrestling Guerrilla provides two nights/DVDs worth of incredible matches and hilarious commentary.  BOLA 2012 featured some of the best wrestling talent on the planet, including Kevin Steen, El Generico, Willie Mack, Roderick Strong, Sami Callihan, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, and of course the tournament champion, Adam Cole.  This two-disc event is the absolute best that professional wrestling had to offer in 2012.

Honorable Mention: 
TNA Bound for Glory
WWE TLC

Feud of the Year:
James Storm vs. Bobby Roode
James Storm and Bobby Roode, formerly known as Beer Money, split up at the end of 2011 when Roode used a beer bottle to defeat Storm for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Following the Bobby Roode heel turn, the two would feud for much of 2012, with Storm unable to regain the title from his former partner. This feud culminated in an incredible match at Bound for Glory that finally saw Storm pick up a victory, although at that point, Roode no longer had the TNA Title around his waist.

Honorable Mention:
John Cena vs. The Rock
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels & Kaz

Face of the Year:
Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan's face-turn was an unexpected one, perhaps even for the WWE. All it took for one of the best wrestlers in the world to get massively over with the WWE audience was one word: YES. Who would've thought? From heel persona to crazy face persona, not much about Bryan changed (other than his eventual pairing with Kane). What's most surprising about his face-turn is that it wasn't his wrestling ability that got the WWE fans behind him, it was his charisma and mic work, not something I thought I'd be saying about DBD 5 years ago.

Honorable Mention
Jeff Hardy
James Storm


Heel of the Year:
Bully Ray
"Do you know who I am?" and "CUT IT OFF!". If you didn't read those two phrases in his voice, complete with NY accent, then you must've missed some of the best work of Bully Ray's career. Feuding with the likes of Austin Aries, Jeff Hardy, and Joseph Park were some of the highlights of Bully's 2012. If his recent face-turn ends up being a ruse and he's actually working with Aces & Eights, then you might just see Bully Ray back in this category next year.

Honorable Mention
Kevin Steen
CM Punk

Tag Team of the Year: 
Team Hell No 
As much as we wanted to give this award to a great indy team like Super Smash Bros. or the Young Bucks, the team of Kane and Daniel Bryan has really revitalized the tag team division in the WWE.  Although they've only been teaming for about 4 months, they've been the WWE Tag Team Champions for most of that time.  Team Hell No debuted on September 10th and won the titles just 6 days later at Night of Champions.

Honorable Mention
Super Smash Bros.
Christopher Daniels & Kaz
The Young Bucks  

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