The OAO WWE Progress Discussion: Year-Half Edition

[Lord of The Curry 0]

This could get poll-ish, but it's intent is discussion and fun-ish so multiple answers can be given wherever you feel is nescessary. How have things been going since January 2005 in the E?

 

Best Worker

 

Shelton Benjamin. Consistency wins this one. I won't refute the claims that he doesn't defend the IC belt as much as he should but there's no denying that this kid is running shit from pillar to fuckin post right now and for the next while. Lit the crowd at Mania the the fuck up with some ridiculously hot spots. Proven ability to function in tag environments (why yes, I would enjoy another Benoit/Benjamin tag team). Has had good-great TV matches with the likes of Benoit, Edge and Michaels and manages to stay over despite a somewhat lackluster push. I also can't believe that the T-Bone is as over as it is. That crowds are connecting with Shelton on a really good level in the ring right now, give his character some work and he's set for bigger things.

 

 

Most Improved

 

Edge. I find myself actually being interested in him with the current state of things and he seems to be getting more comfortable as the weeks go by. In-ring he still continues to struggle in some ways but is still capable of pulling off watchable matches. I'm curious to see what they'll do with the Money in The Bank thing and the draft, if anything at all.

 

Spot of the Year

 

The ladder match at Mania in itself has an assload. Benjamins tope. Benjamins t-bone off the ladder on Edge. Benjamin's running clothesline up the ladder on Jericho. Benoit's headbutt off the ladder.

 

But I'm going with Benjamin blocking the SCM and acing Michaels with a high-kick on RAW. I freaked.

 

Biggest Dissapointment

 

A few things come to mind on this one. Eddy/Rey is one of them and it pains me to say it because I really do like the match. But something was missing and the anticlimactic pin, along with the rabidly pro-Eddy crowd took away from what could've been a really damn fine matchup. JBL/Cena is another, due to what was most likely an audible called backstage. Cena's comeback is non-existent and ten seconds later he's champ. Cena himself wasn't as nearly as over as he should've been, all things considered.

 

Most Fun to Watch/Best Match

 

Whatever worked for you here. I'm going with Benjamin/Michaels from RAW. Whether or not I like Michaels (and I don't really) is irrelevant here, as he gave Benjamin a serious boost amongst the less-then-informed fan base the WWE caters to. The opening sequence with Benjamin owning Michaels on the mat after Michaels stupidly tries to front is goodness. The pace was good throughout the match and Benjamin got just as much (if not more) offense then Michaels. I called the finish from a mile away but damn if it still didn't look good and the post-match stuff with Michaels giving the "Holy shit" look to a KO'd Benjamin was stellar.

 

Funniest Moment

 

At the moment I still giggle whenever I think of HHH's "HELL..........IN A CELL!" to Batista on a few a few weeks ago. Angle the rapist is funny but probably in a wrong way.

 

Best PPV

 

WrestleMania edges out Royal Rumble due to the rest of the Rumble PPV being pretty blah, barring the SD 3-Way which was pretty decent. WrestleMania I think in time will end up being a fairly forgotten WrestleMania but it produced some good stuff. The ladder match served it's purpose. Eddy/Rey was fun for what it was. Orton/Taker was better then it had any right to be thanks to Taker's mad bumping skillz and Orton's sick-as-all-hell RKO reversal out the chokeslam. Batista/HHH wasn't offensive and I poppped large for Batista's watered-down Air Raid Crash at the end.

[Guest Coffey]

Best Worker: It's pretty hard to vote against Shelton right now. Not a whole lot of people have really been doing anything for the last six months. Shelton has been on fire.

 

Most Improved: I'm saying Maven. His ringwork, mic work and physique have all improved. I don't know why WWE shaved his eyebrows and slapped on eyeliner but outside of that he's come a really long way. He's not doing a whole lot with Simon Dean and his theme music should probably be updated but at least he's getting regular TV time now.

 

Spot of the Year: I'm sure I'm alone in this one but I'm going with Muhammad Hassan's Camel Clutch on Eugene at Wrestlemania. It's probably the last time that we'll get to see the throat slicing gesture and Eugene just looked dead. It was great.

 

Biggest Disappointment: I'm going with the ending to the Royal Rumble. I'm glad that Batista won but it just all seemed to be so botched. Then Vince came out and fucked his shit up. Ugh. If WWE's not careful, the ECW PPV could overthrow this category.

 

Most Fun to Watch/Best Match: I think it's Shelton Benjamin Vs. Shawn Michaels from the first round of the Gold Rush tournament. I still mark for Val Venis bumping on Sunday Night Heat and the MNM Vs. Haas/Holly has a lot of "old school" feel over on Smackdown. If we're going by best match, however, it's HBK/Benjamin. If we're just talking about whom is the most fun to watch, for me, it has to be Carlito.

 

Funniest Moment: "Tomko, gimme a beat."

 

Best PPV: It has to be Wrestlemania.

[David Blazenwing 0]

Best Worker

 

I gotta go with Hurricane on this one. He can move in the ring, and if it wasn't for his size and mildly restrictive gimmick, I think he'd be a lot higher on the card that he currently is.

 

Most Improved

 

Hmm... a toughie. I'm gonna go off the page here and nominate Kane. The last year wasn't all that good (minus Benoit/Kane at BB) but in 2005, he's really impressing me. Seriously, give him a REAL title run.

 

Spot of the Year

 

Gotta go with Benjamin's ramp run off the ladder. That was just too tight, especially watching it live on PPV.

 

Biggest Dissapointment

 

JBL/Cena at WM 21. JBL dominates the whole match and Cena wins with, what, three moves? WTF?

 

Most Fun to Watch/Best Match

 

Tag Team Turmoil at Backlash. As a long-time Hurricane fan, it was a truly magical moment witnessing him and Rosey FINALLY winning the Tag Team Championships!

 

Funniest Moment

 

Anything from Viscera in the last month or so. The guy REALLY seems to want Lilian. And his singing voice ain't half bad, neither.

 

Best PPV

 

Backlash, if only for Hogan (though Hassan should have won the match to further his career) and Hurricane's long-needed title win. Seriously, the guy deserves so much more!

 

And if you couldn't tell, yes, I am a serious Hurricane mark.

[Dark Age 0]

Best Worker

 

Chris Benoit. I'd venture to say that Benoit's had a better half of 2005 than the whole of 2004. He's given some really smart performances this year. Carried Batista to his best (singles) match ever, had two good matches with Jericho on Raw, the AWESOME rapid fire match with Shelton, a decent match with Trips back in the run-up to Mania, a fantastic performace in the ladder match, a really good match with Edge on the Raw following Mania, a solid match with Christian, a pretty good LMS match with Edge, and took Trips to his MOTY in the goldrush tournament. His body of work has been good, but his individual performances have impressed me. The selling in "arm injury" match with Edge, and to a lesser extent, Christian, was great. The selling of the concussion against Triple H was great. He's been in (for me) 2 of the 3 best Raw matches this year (Vs. Edge, and Vs. Jericho (Submission)). Managed to keep himself really over on his ring-work alone, despite being treated pretty badly this year.

 

Honourable mentions go to Shelton Benjamin, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. Shelton's been great since the "Money In The Bank" stuff started, up until the match with Shawn. The Shawn match was really good and maybe Raw MOTY. The triple threat following Mania was GREAT, but too quick. His Backlash match with Jericho was good as well, and, of course, he kicked ass in the Ladder match. Gave a good performance in his singles match with Edge. Wouldn't put him above Benoit simply due to the fact that his three good months aren't as valuable as Benoit's five. That's no fault of his own, as he's been stuck with slugs/on Heat the rest of the time, but, that's just the way it is.

 

Angle's had, IMO, the best matches in the company. I think the Japan match with Rey is company MOTY, with the Championship Series match with Eddie not too far behind. Has had good matches with JBL and Marty Jannetty, some solid stuff with Book, a fun three-way at RR, and the WM match with Shawn, which was very good, but overrated.

 

Eddie hasn't had the quality or quantity of matches that he had last year, mainly due to the fact that he hasn't been put in the position to, but he's still had a good year. The Angle match previously mentioned, as well as the really good, though disappointing bout with Rey at JD. Here more due to the fact that he's just been awesome since turning.

 

Rey's been pretty good, too, as has London.

 

Most Improved

 

Very difficult one, as there is nobody who really stands out as "improved". Doug Basham and Rob Conway have both been good, but they have always been good. However, only now are they getting the chance to show it. Maybe you could say they have improved within the restrictions of "WWE Style". Mark Jindrak has been slightly better, too, putting in a great performance against Doug on Velocity, with some really good selling. I'm really finding this one difficult, so I'll leave it at that.

 

Spot of the Year

 

The ladder run is obvious, and my pick, but a few that will likely be forgotten:

 

- Shelton's springboard bulldog on Jericho, Raw following Mania. That was just beautiful.

- Edge's baseball slide to Benoit, same Raw. Absolutely sick landing by Benoit. I watched it over and over.

- Eddie's brainbuster/suplex to Rey on the steps. Great stuff.

- Eddie's headstand hammerlock, or whatever it was he did to Rey, first SD of the year.

- Shelton springboarding in to the superkick.

 

Biggest Disappointment

 

Cena/JBL at Mania should have been a crazy, interference filled, bloody brawl. So I choose that. In a close second is the lack of push for the cruisers. I KNOW this could go on every year, but I held out the tiniest bit of hope that something good would go down when London won the belt. But it didn't.

 

Most Fun to Watch/Best Match

 

Angle/Rey and Angle/Eddie. Changes all the time, though. Some of the most FUN I had watching a match was the IC Title three-way following Mania, and I think that could have been a company MOTYC if it was longer. Angle/Eddie was great, with tons of little things that played off their past matches, like a repeat of the WM finish, with Angle kicking out this time, Angle pulling Eddie's tights in the same way Eddie pulled Angle's straps in their 2/3 Falls match, etc. Plus it was just some really good wrestling. Rey/Angle was one of the crispest, cleanest matches I've seen all year, though I don't remember much about it, other than loving it. I have it on tape, so perhaps another viewing is in order. Also loved Shawn/Shelton, Benoit/Edge, London/Akio (most of their matches), and Orton and Shawn/Edge and Christian. Oh, and the "Money In The Bank" ladder match. I also think that Trips/Edge from Japan was pretty good.

 

Oh, almost forgot, JBL/Cena was pretty damn good (at JD that is).

 

Funniest Moment

 

As mentioned:

 

"Tomko, gimme a beat!"

"No."

"Ok."

 

I also liked JBL beating up the Godzilla thing in Japan.

 

Best PPV

 

Match for match, it's Mania, but I found myself enjoying Judgment Day more. JBL/Cena and Eddie/Rey were both very good, London/Chavo and Book/Angle were solid, and the tag title match was fun. Show/Carlito was fine for what it was. Mania, I think, had, overall, better matches, but I was still really disappointed. Taker/Orton was good, but could have been better, the ladder match was really good, but should have been longer, Eddie/Rey was decent but a huge letdown, and Angle/Shawn was pretty much what I thought it would be. The two world title matches were really disappointing. So, I'll go for Judgment Day.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

What about spot of the year: Snitsky clotheslining London off the apron at the Rumble.

[Dark Age 0]

Yeah, that was cool too.

[Guest JoeJoe]

Best Worker

 

Kurt Angle.

Look at his matches, go no further. Rey, Jannety, Cena, Eddie, Shawn..he has had great matches with all of them this year.

 

Most Improved

 

Christian.

Benjamin might have impressed with his spots in the Ladder match and the Shawn match, but Christian's the one thats getting over with his charisma. This just shows how important charisma is.

 

Spot of the Year

 

SCM to Benjamin on RAW.

Close scond would be Eddie slamming Rey on the stairs.

 

Biggest Dissapointment

 

Angle-Booker feud.

Do I even need to go into detail here?

 

Best Match

 

Shawn-Angle and Shawn-Benjamin.

Best PPV MOTY and best TV MOTY.

 

Funniest Moment

 

The Christian-Flair segments and the Maria-Shawn interview.

 

Best PPV

 

WrestleMania XXI. A ***** match, an exciting spotfest, Hogan rocking the house, Taker carrying Orton, HHH losing...all made it worthwhile.

[Angle-plex 0]

Best Worker

Kurt Angle.

Between Angle and Benjamin, but I think Angle edge's out the win. Shelton's been good, but the only memorable match he's had since January was against Shawn.

 

Most Improved

Christian.

Maybe not in the ring, but his promos and delivery have truely impressed me lately.

 

Spot of the Year

Superkick to Benjamin on RAW.

 

Biggest Dissapointment

Eddie-Rey WM XXI

Wasn't expecting a ***** match, but I was expecting something better than what we got.

 

Most Fun Match

Honestly....the match I was most into this whole year was (don't kill me) Undertaker vs Orton. A lot of near falls - I was actually convinced late into the match that Taker was losing it.

 

Best Match

Angle/Shawn Mania XXI. Shawn/Benjamin was REALLY good though.

 

Funniest Moment

Christian's Cena diss when Mcmahon announced the draft on RAW.

 

Best PPV

 

WrestleMania XXI was the only one I've seen, although I was somewhat dissapointed in it as an overall show.

[Art Sandusky 0]

Best Worker: Shelton Benjamin. What can be said has already been said and better than I could venture.

 

Most Improved: JBL. We saw him really getting revved up at the end of last year, but it really hit you during this year as he started his "I AM A WRESTLING GOD!" phase. I legit enjoy the guy all-around now, whereas I just loved his promos when he first became the gimmick.

 

Spot of the Year: I haven't seen the Michaels/Benjamin spot, so I give the nod to the Benjamin ladder run. I was thinking to myself how cool it would be for him to run up the ladder and grab the briefcase, but he did one better by laying a clothesline down in the process.

 

I think my personal symbolic pick would be near the end of his match with Jericho at Backlash. It came after the vertical leap to the top turnbuckle, and the bulldog, and the insane first T-Bone sequence. I think it was after he broke out of the Walls of Jericho via the bottom rope, or somewhere in there, real close to the end. Anyways, I was looking down for a second to grab one of the delectable mozzarella sticks at the sports bar, and when I looked up, Benjamin was upside down in mid-air and kicking Jericho in the head. I asked my friend what happened, because "I looked up, and Shelton was like, upside down and kicking ass still." <<< Use this as my write-up for the Best Worker category above. TELL me that isn't totally indicative of Benjamin's awesomeness. And that sumbitch went to O-Dub (Orangeburg-Williamson or some shit like that, it's about an hour and change down the road) High and you do NOT piss a brother off who went to O-Dub.

 

Biggest Disappointment: Cena/JBL at Wrestlemania. I was expecting a kickass match after the truly god-like JBL entrance.

 

Best Match: Angle/HBK, because it's been the only one so far this year to have me totally caught up in it and actively screaming for Michaels to beat Angle until Angle locked the ankle lock in, and I came down off the natural mark high.

 

Funniest Moment: Couple'a weeks ago on Raw. People probably didn't notice this because it was incidentally caught on the microphone, but as Lilian was walking into the ring, Viscera was saying the funniest shit ever to Maria. It was such an amazing case of the unspoken hallmark of gimmicks continuing as if nothing's different whenever the microphone is away (like when guys yell at each other from the aisle and ring because they're SO MAD AT EACH OTHER). Viscera told Maria "I wanna turn you into butter and put you over some bread" or some shit like that. So awesome.

 

Best PPV: Royal Rumble, because I fuckin' love Royal Rumbles.

[clean rob 0]

Best Worker

On a match-by-match basis, it's probably Angle, but he's spent most of the year doing the Invitational, so I'm plumping for Benoit. Benjamin is more exciting to watch, but the matches Benoit has managed to pull out of Batista, Hassan, Tomko et al - along with bringing the best out of Edge over their feud (their April 4 match is surely a Raw MOTYC), being the MVP in the EC and the WM ladder match, and having two really good TV matches with HHH, make him my pick.

 

Most Improved

I'm probably going to get shit for this, but going purely on a house show match she had with Victoria, I'm saying Christy Hemme. She's still not even a good worker by any means, but the improvement from what I'd seen on TV a few months prior was really dramatic. She looked way more confident in her movements and pulled out a pretty nifty looking 'rana. She just might be the next Trish if she continues to try as hard as I think she is.

 

Spot of the Year

Lots of memorable ones already this year...but the Stiffest Superkick Ever has to win it. Not only did it look like Benjamin had to be knocked out from it, it even fit nicely into the story of the match.

 

Biggest Dissapointment

That there's going to be another tedious Diva Search. Aside from that, the mind boggles as to the utterly anticlimactic booking of JBL/Cena at WM. They should have just had JBL get a cheap win. It would have been way better if Cena had won at Judgement Day.

 

Best Match

Angle/HBK had me leaping about my front room and shouting at the TV, so that's my pick. Two really intense, fired-up performances that really sucked me in after a slow-ish first few minutes. Matches like that make me a happy wrestling fan.

 

Funniest Moment

Snitsky's delivery in the Taxi Driver commercial.

 

Best PPV

Judgement Day was such a solid PPV that I think I'm gonna go for that. The only two duff matches were mercifully short (and Big Show/Carlito at least had a cool spot), and absolutely everything else met or exceeded my expectations. Also it's had the best main event of the year so far, and it helps a PPV so much to finbish on a high note IMO.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Best Worker

Benoit still gets the nod. Angle and Benjamin get very very close honourable mention.

 

Most Improved

I'm going with Edge. I really can buy him as a legit World Champ.

 

Spot of the Year

The blocked Superkick into a spin kick was incredible, as were a lot from MITB Ladder Match. I don't know why, but Benoit's broken nose diving headbutt is the most memorable to me.

 

Biggest Dissapointment

Batista's run as champ. Not really his fault, but still.

 

Best Match

Considering I haven't cared about wrestling for a long time, the emotion I felt rooting against HBK at WMXXI ensures that HBK-Angle takes the honour.

 

Funniest Moment

All of the Taxi Driver commercial. And I know it was a one liner, but I loved "I got arrested. That's right. Because I stole the show!"

 

Best PPV

Rumble. Mostly because it's the rumble.

[Carnival 0]

*Based on past 6 months only*

 

Best Worker = Shawn Michaels

 

HM - Shelton Benjamin, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit

 

Most Improved = JBL

 

HM - Shelton Benjamin, Edge, Orlando Jordan

 

Spot of the Year = Michaels/Benjamin Superkick

 

HM - Benjamin/Jericho/Christian(holding ladder) Ladder run, Eddie/Rey suplex on stairs, Anytime Muhammad does the throat slit..esp on Eugene.

 

Biggest Dissapointment = JBL/Cena Wrestlemania match

 

HM - Batista/HHH feud length, Matt Hardy fired, Death of Women's Division, Molly Holly release, Another Diva Search

 

Best Match = Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania 21

 

HM - Edge vs Shawn Michaels Street Fight RAW, Shawn Michaels vs Shelton Benjamin Gold Rush Tourny RAW, Eddie Guererro vs Kurt Angle Smackdown

 

Funniest Moment = Anything with Christian

 

HM - JBL in Japan w/Godzilla, Batista Dance/Entrance, NY chants at Lita, Wrestlemania Trailers/Michael Cole in Taxi Driver

 

Best PPV - Wrestlemania 21

 

HM - Royal Rumble

[haws bah gawd 0]

Best Worker

Paul London, hands down. This is a guy that has everything mastered, and all I can see holding him down from getting a higher spot on the roster is his height, and apparent lack of mic skills. Though I will admit, I haven't actually heard him on the mic, but his commentary during Velocity a few weeks back was bland. In the roster draft, I would love to see the Hurricane get moved to Smackdown so that we can get a few possible classics out of he and London.

 

Honorable Mention - Shelton Benjamin

 

Most Improved

This is tough to call, but I will go with Batista. This time last year he wasn't getting much of a reaction at all, and now hes the World Champion, and one of RAW's top faces. He seems to know exactly when and how to compensate for his weaknesses in the ring, and is great at playing to a crowd.

 

Spot of the Year

I'll go with Paul London's selling of the Snitzky clothesline from the apron at the Rumble by doing a SSP to the floor. That looked like death.

 

Honorable Mention - HBK superkicking Shelton Benjamin's head off in mid-springboard during their match on RAW.

 

Biggest Dissapointment

I will agree with Batista's run as champion. I wanted to see this something awful, but it seemed once WWE put the title on him, the writers stopped caring about him. Hopefully we can see Angle moved to RAW during the draft so that we can get a fresh feud out of Big Dave instead of HHH/Batista for the 100th time.

 

Best Match

I will make this a tie between HBK/Shelton Benjamin from RAW and HBK/Angle from Wrestlemania.

 

Honarable Mention - Marty Jannetty vs Kurt Angle from Smackdown. I loved this one, and its good to see Jannetty has cleaned himself up.

 

Funniest Moment

Christian - "Tomko......gimme a beat!"

Tomko - "no"

 

Best PPV

Wrestlemania 21. This gave us the HBK vs Kurt Angle classic and the 6-man ladder match. Best $$$ I've spent on a PPV all year.

[The Dames 0]

I have to disagree with you on London. I'm a big fan, but the fact that he doesn't have great mic skills shows that he hasn't mastered EVERYTHING. That's a pretty big statement right there.

 

Best Worker - Shawn Michaels, slightly edging out Shelton for me.

 

Most Improved - JBL. On the mic, the guy is gold, he's finally getting seen as a main eventer by the masses and he had a great main event with Cena at JD, probably his best match to date.

 

Spot of the Year - SCM on Benjamin, slightly edging out Benjamins running up the ladder at WM.

 

Biggest Disappointment - JBL/Cena at WM. While their match at JD was great, this is the match that will always be remembered years from now just based on the fact that it was at WM and it was all of 10 minutes. Batista's run with the belt hasn't had the room to shine since it's been all about HHH/Batista and dissing Eric Bischoff for no reason. Last weeks' romp of Hassan and Davari is what they need to do to fix this ASAP.

 

Best Match - Angle/Michaels at Mania. Give Michaels/Benjamin a reason and 30 minutes and I think they could give it some stiff competition.

 

Funniest Moment - Probably JBL w/Godzilla in Japan.

 

Best PPV - WM 21...

 

Dames

[zyon 0]

Best Worker- I'd have to go with Benoit cause of reasons already stated and something that sets him apart from Benjamin is that Benoit just draws you into his matches better as of right now, but Shelton is definitely an honorable mention.

 

Most Improved- I have to go with Batista. The guy before Wrestlemania was getting "pops" that he had no right in getting and is still getting cheered to this day. He started off as the guy behind Orton and ended up being the number one face on Raw. He still needs to work better in the ring though and it seems his entrance tires him out before he even gets to the ring, but those are just little complaints.

 

Spot Of The Year- I think I enjoyed Ortons counter to the Chokeslam more than the Ladder Match spot and the super kick spot. The two I just mentioned are amazing and to be honest are probably more memorable spots, but I remember calling that if Orton has any chance to win the match he would have to counter the chokeslam into the RKO...too bad he didn't win though.

 

Biggest Disappointment- Anything to do with Kane. For years the guy just can't buy himself a reasonable push and this (half) year was no different. Its kinda hard for the fans to get behind somebody who is basically a joke, and now the WWE has been given another chance after the divorce of Kane and Lita to let Kane be the monster he should have been the last couple years...but I can see Lita picking up a victory over Kane.

 

Best Match- I'm a minor Orton mark, and I want to say his match with Taker, but I enjoyed the Angle vs HBK match a lot more mainly cause of HBK's "Lesner" sell of the ankle lock. But the match as a whole was pretty good too.

 

Funniest Moment- Tomko: Who is Mark Jindrak

 

Christain: I...I don't know

 

*odd pause*

 

Christain: Doesn't matter I can beat him anyway

 

Best PPV- Wrestlemania, had good matches and just a fun show to watch.

[Guest QUP2CME]

Best Worker

 

Michaels pips Shelton IMO. His matches against Benjamin and Angle were stellar. He might be getting on in years but he keeps on producing the snowflakes.

 

Most Improved

 

Edge and Christian.

 

Depends on what you mean by most improved. Most improved worker? Most improved in terms of overness? I say all-round the most improved guy in the last 6 months is Edge. He's come back from a neck injury, and all the behind the scenes BS aside, he's finally getting over with the crowd, has an interesting relationship with Lita on Raw and can be considered a legitimate threat and a full fledged Main Eventer ATM.

 

Christian is an enigma. He is slowly getting over wit the crowd and WWE is doing the right thing by slow burning him. He is keeping his cocky persona and in a way is connecting with the crowd. His promos have been the highlight of Backlash and Raw in the past month and a bit.

 

 

Spot of the Year

 

I'm a mark for Randy Orton so i'd say his Chokeslam into RKO at WM. I thought that was it but wasn't to be.

 

 

Biggest Dissapointment

 

HHH still hogging the limelight.

 

 

Best Match

 

I judge matches on how much I enjoyed them not on the technical aspects or blown spots. In saying this Orton V Taker at WM stands out for me. Crowd was into it, Taker had his best match in years and Orton was seen as a real threat to his streak. Might not of had pure wrestling but what it lacked technically it made on in drama and suspense.

 

HBK V Benjamin is up there as well as the ladder match from WM 21.

 

Funniest Moment

 

WM21 trailers.

 

 

Best PPV

 

Can't go past WM 21.

[zyn081 0]

Best Worker

 

Chris Benoit. I'd venture to say that Benoit's had a better half of 2005 than the whole of 2004. He's given some really smart performances this year. Carried Batista to his best (singles) match ever, had two good matches with Jericho on Raw, the AWESOME rapid fire match with Shelton, a decent match with Trips back in the run-up to Mania, a fantastic performace in the ladder match, a really good match with Edge on the Raw following Mania, a solid match with Christian, a pretty good LMS match with Edge, and took Trips to his MOTY in the goldrush tournament. His body of work has been good, but his individual performances have impressed me. The selling in "arm injury" match with Edge, and to a lesser extent, Christian, was great. The selling of the concussion against Triple H was great. He's been in (for me) 2 of the 3 best Raw matches this year (Vs. Edge, and Vs. Jericho (Submission)). Managed to keep himself really over on his ring-work alone, despite being treated pretty badly this year.

 

Honourable mentions go to Shelton Benjamin, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero. Shelton's been great since the "Money In The Bank" stuff started, up until the match with Shawn. The Shawn match was really good and maybe Raw MOTY. The triple threat following Mania was GREAT, but too quick. His Backlash match with Jericho was good as well, and, of course, he kicked ass in the Ladder match. Gave a good performance in his singles match with Edge. Wouldn't put him above Benoit simply due to the fact that his three good months aren't as valuable as Benoit's five. That's no fault of his own, as he's been stuck with slugs/on Heat the rest of the time, but, that's just the way it is.

 

Angle's had, IMO, the best matches in the company. I think the Japan match with Rey is company MOTY, with the Championship Series match with Eddie not too far behind. Has had good matches with JBL and Marty Jannetty, some solid stuff with Book, a fun three-way at RR, and the WM match with Shawn, which was very good, but overrated.

 

Eddie hasn't had the quality or quantity of matches that he had last year, mainly due to the fact that he hasn't been put in the position to, but he's still had a good year. The Angle match previously mentioned, as well as the really good, though disappointing bout with Rey at JD. Here more due to the fact that he's just been awesome since turning.

 

Rey's been pretty good, too, as has London.

 

Most Improved

 

Very difficult one, as there is nobody who really stands out as "improved". Doug Basham and Rob Conway have both been good, but they have always been good. However, only now are they getting the chance to show it. Maybe you could say they have improved within the restrictions of "WWE Style". Mark Jindrak has been slightly better, too, putting in a great performance against Doug on Velocity, with some really good selling. I'm really finding this one difficult, so I'll leave it at that.

 

Spot of the Year

 

The ladder run is obvious, and my pick, but a few that will likely be forgotten:

 

- Shelton's springboard bulldog on Jericho, Raw following Mania. That was just beautiful.

- Edge's baseball slide to Benoit, same Raw. Absolutely sick landing by Benoit. I watched it over and over.

- Eddie's brainbuster/suplex to Rey on the steps. Great stuff.

- Eddie's headstand hammerlock, or whatever it was he did to Rey, first SD of the year.

- Shelton springboarding in to the superkick.

 

Biggest Disappointment

 

Cena/JBL at Mania should have been a crazy, interference filled, bloody brawl. So I choose that. In a close second is the lack of push for the cruisers. I KNOW this could go on every year, but I held out the tiniest bit of hope that something good would go down when London won the belt. But it didn't.

 

Most Fun to Watch/Best Match

 

Angle/Rey and Angle/Eddie. Changes all the time, though. Some of the most FUN I had watching a match was the IC Title three-way following Mania, and I think that could have been a company MOTYC if it was longer. Angle/Eddie was great, with tons of little things that played off their past matches, like a repeat of the WM finish, with Angle kicking out this time, Angle pulling Eddie's tights in the same way Eddie pulled Angle's straps in their 2/3 Falls match, etc. Plus it was just some really good wrestling. Rey/Angle was one of the crispest, cleanest matches I've seen all year, though I don't remember much about it, other than loving it. I have it on tape, so perhaps another viewing is in order. Also loved Shawn/Shelton, Benoit/Edge, London/Akio (most of their matches), and Orton and Shawn/Edge and Christian. Oh, and the "Money In The Bank" ladder match. I also think that Trips/Edge from Japan was pretty good.

 

Oh, almost forgot, JBL/Cena was pretty damn good (at JD that is).

 

Funniest Moment

 

As mentioned:

 

"Tomko, gimme a beat!"

"No."

"Ok."

 

I also liked JBL beating up the Godzilla thing in Japan.

 

Best PPV

 

Match for match, it's Mania, but I found myself enjoying Judgment Day more. JBL/Cena and Eddie/Rey were both very good, London/Chavo and Book/Angle were solid, and the tag title match was fun. Show/Carlito was fine for what it was. Mania, I think, had, overall, better matches, but I was still really disappointed. Taker/Orton was good, but could have been better, the ladder match was really good, but should have been longer, Eddie/Rey was decent but a huge letdown, and Angle/Shawn was pretty much what I thought it would be. The two world title matches were really disappointing. So, I'll go for Judgment Day.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

POST OF THE YEAR: for 3rd place see above. 1st place is RRR's Kingdom of 6. 2nd is Magus on TNA booking of Bound for Glory.

 

BEST WORKER: Couldnt have said it better myself. Shelton, Eddie and Kurt are there abouts in decreasing order.

 

MOST IMPROVED: Without a doubt, JBL, followed by Edge, Shelton, Batista and Christian.

 

SPOT OF THE YEAR: Any of the high points from Jericho-Benjamin at Backlash.

 

BIGGEST DISSAPOINTMENT: JBL losing the title at WM. HHH on RAW.

 

MOST FUN TO WATCH/BEST MATCH: I really liked Shelton-Jericho at Backlash.

 

FUNNIEST MOMENT: Viscera, Taxi Driver, some of JBLs promos, the way JBL won at NWO and Christian promos.

 

BEST PPV: WM, JD and Backlash (in that order, HHH killed Backlash though).

[Guest Rrrsh]

Best Worker

 

HBK. He had teh ebst two matches of the year and had a real nice bloody Street Fight with Edge. Shelton close second. Angle 3rd, but loses ground from Angle Invitation and lack of diversity in his matches.

 

Most Improved

 

Shelton. Before he was a real good worker, now he is Top 3 in the company. 2nd is Cena, as he showed at JD that he has a Austin affect about him. He isnt a great worker, but he really put together one hell of a brawl.

 

Spot of the Year

 

SCM on Benjerman. HM go to The Ladder run, the Buster on the steps and London generally killing himself

 

Biggest Dissapointment

 

Batista as a face

 

Best Match

 

HBK/Angle, barely beat HBK/Benjerman

 

Funniest Moment

 

Vicera.

 

Best PPV

JD

[Guest The Iron Yuppie]

Best Worker

Chris Benoit. While he hasn't in my opinion, been involved in the standout matches thus far this year (Michaels v Angle, Michaels v Benjamin, Angle v Jannetty), I've found him to be consistently putting on great performances - from putting Batista over as a monster in what is the best singles match I've seen Batista involved in, to his superb selling in the ladder match at Wrestlemania, and in his matches against Edge and Triple H. I don't recall seeing that many Kurt Angle matches this year - mostly on the Smackdowns that I have watched he's been involved with the Kurt Angle Invitational. Shelton Benjamin and Shawn Michaels have been excellent as well (and have been involved in some better matches than Benoit), and if they perform as consistently well over the remaining seven months, I could easily envisage either of them being best worker for the year.

 

Most Improved

Shelton Benjamin. He has always been a good worker dating back to his Team Angle days, but now he is close to being the top worker in the company with the opportunities he has been given to work with the likes of Michaels, Benoit and Jericho in high profile matches. The way in which he has been pushed has also see him garner much improved crowd reactions to the extent that it would be a believable evolution for him to be competing in PPV world title matches.

 

While I have heard that JBL has improved (and the 3 way match at the Royal Rumble was more entertaining than I would have expected), not having seen some of his more notable matches, I can't accurately answer with Bradshaw.

 

Spot of the Year

For mine, easily Paul London's eliminatio from the Royal Rumble. Honourable mention goes to Benjamin's ladder run.

 

Biggest Dissapointment

The world title matches at Wrestlemania. The JBL-Cena match should have been a wild brawl, perhaps with gimmicky spots and blood (which I've read that their Judgement Day match was). With Triple H v Batista, Triple H should have gone out of his way to put Batista over as though there was no stopping him on that particular night (including kicking out of the pedigree), in a similar fashion to the Benoit v Batista match. The subsequent feud between Triple H and Batista has also done little to put Batista over as it should.

 

Best Match

Shawn Michaels v Kurt Angle from Wrestlemania. Honourable mentions go to Angle v Marty Jannetty, Michaels v Shelton Benjamin, and the Royal Rumble match.

 

Funniest Moment

Christian: "Tomko, Give me a beat."

Tomko: "No."

 

Best PPV

Wrestlemania 21.

[Just John 0]

Best Worker:

 

I'll have to go with Angle. He's always been good, but he really picked up some steam up until his current feud with Booker T. His matches with Guerrero, Cena, Michaels, and even Marty Janetty have been good.

 

Most Improved:

 

Probably Edge. He's still having good matches with Benoit, Jericho, and Michaels, plus his character has gotten better since winning the MITB. He's gone back to more of his arrogant 2000 persona, but with more intensity. It's a lot better than him saying "You screwed me, Shawn... You SCREEEEWED me!" every week.

 

Best Spot:

 

In terms of looking cool, either Shelton's no-hands, over-the-top-rope flipping plancha to the floor or ladder run and clothesline from the MITB ladder match. In terms of looking vicious, Eddie's vertical suplex to Rey on the steps takes the cake.

 

Biggest Disappointment:

 

I agree with the WWE title match at Mania. No doubt Cena should have won because of the way the feud was built, but the finish should have been way better. There was no build and the match should have gone at least 10 more minutes at the pace they were going.

 

Best Match:

 

Angle/Michaels at Wrestlemania. I thought it was **** upon first viewing, but I'll have to watch it again. My only major complaint was Shawn still going for the SCM after his ankle was worked on. The kick was fine, but why did he try to "tune up the band." I did like the fact that he actually tapped to the ankle lock for the clean finish.

 

Funniest Moment:

 

The unintentional comedy of Kurt Angle:

 

"Josh, everyone has vices. My vice is gutter sluts. Maybe I have a psychological disorder, I don't know ... I don't know how to say this, so I'm just gonna say it... Booker, I want to have sex with your wife. Not just any sex, though. No, I want to have hot, dirty bestiality sex with her."

 

Best PPV:

 

Wrestlemania. Angle/Michaels was great, Orton/UT was surprisingly good, HHH/Batista did what it was supposed to, and the MITB ladder match was a fun spotfest (Though I must say I admire Chris Benoit for bringing arm psych to the match and selling the injury for a couple weeks... Consistent selling and psychology in a ladder match? Now that's workrate!)

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Best Worker: Shelton Benjamin. The most consisent and entertaining wrestler this year had good to great matches with Benoit, Jericho, Shawn Michaels, and even carried Gene Snitsky to a watchable match. Angle comes in 2nd.

 

Most Improved: JBL. He's improved as a wrestler and a better brawler. Had a great bloody brawl with John Cena at Judgement Day, and had very good matches with Kurt Angle where he wasn't completely carried.

 

Best Spot: Shelton t-bone suplexing Edge off the ladder, had me yelling Holy shit! for a good 30 seconds.

 

Biggest Dissapointment: Eddie/Rey match from WMXXI. Rey was too concerned about his mask then he was the match.

 

Best Match: Here is my Top 5 of the year...

 

1. HBK/Angle, WMXXI

2. Shelton/HBK, RAW

3. Money In The Bank, WMXXI

4. Royal Rumble Match

5. Cena/JBL, Judgement Day

 

Funniest Moment: Carlito intreupting The Pipers Pit at Wrestlemania XXI.

 

Best PPV: Wrestlemania XXI without a doubt.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Best Worker - Kurt Angle. If Shelton Benjamin hadn't had a completely worthless 3 months of the year (not his fault), I would have said him, but reluctantly in terms of in-ring performance I have to go with Kurt Angle. He's had good-to-great matches every PPV he was on this year and his match with HBK stole the show at Mania. He's also had good work with JBL on Smackdown. Nobody was really standout this half-year, but he's been the most consistant.

 

 

Most Improved - JBL. Easily. He was underrated last year, but he really started taking off this year to the point that the Internet was pretty much hoping that he would defeat Cena at Mania. One of, if not the most entertaining wrestler in the company right now. The I Quit match at Judgment Day was the best match of both his and Cena's career.

 

 

Spot of the Year - Shelton Benjamin's springboard into Superkick in the first round of the Gold Rush tournament. Best finish to any match this year. Although in all honestly if you did a top ten list of spots, Benjamin probably did the majority of them, but this was my personal favourite.

 

 

Biggest Dissapointment - Edge/Batista for the World Title. They had a chance to really do something different, and given the backup of Edge's Money in the Bank contract anything could have happened. Instead we got a lame HHH return to RAW and a fake Flair face turn that fans saw coming a mile away. Edge, Christian & Tomko were essentially buried in the process, and even Batista to an extent. Biggest misfire of the year.

 

 

Most Fun to Watch/Best Match - Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels, Gold Rush Tournament First Round. For the first time in ages, my match of the half year happened on free television. It isn't so much that it was the best techinically executed match as it was just a joy to watch and was something different from the normal WWE match.

 

 

Funniest Moment - Christian's Royal Rumble rap with help from Tomko. Tomko's reaction here is priceless, and Christian is always good for humour if nothing else.

 

 

Best PPV - Judgment Day. By a mile. There are four good matches here which is double the next best PPV (Wrestlemania) and even stuff like the Tag Title match is enjoyable. Certainly the best main event of the year with the final Cena/JBL blowoff. Some of the angles leading up to the show weren't the greatest, but I can't find much fault in anything that actually happened on the show itself.

[Guest RadioBurning]

Another funny moment: Booker T fighting for his wife, and channeling his "controlled rage" into a Spinaroony.

 

Micheal Cole: "Booker T with an EMOTIONAL Spinaroony!"