411’s 2007 Year End Wrestling Awards: Part 1

Voting went as follows. Staff could vote for three places per category; 5 points awarded for 1st place vote, 3 points for 2nd place vote, 1 point for 3rd place vote. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s meet this years panel (in alphabetical order, as to not bruise egos!):

Honorable Mentions: (These are writers who also voted but are not participating in this column; thanks to them for their votes) – Matt Adamson, Owain J. Brimfield, Bill Bumgarner, Stuart Carapola, Andy Clark, T.G. Corke, Bayani Domingo, JD Dunn, John Gregory, Dustin James, Stephen Randle, Jeff Small, Jarrod Westerfield, and Chris Widner. Special thanks also to Christi Csonka for not only voting, but for hooking me up with the SICK banners you will see before you.

Michael Bauer – He consistently gives you the Ari Berenstein – Ari hits us with his Column of Honor (with the link being part 1 of his 6 part end of the year ROH review/awards); or, if you’d rather listen than read, check him out in his Attack of the ROHbots! Podcast instead. And remember kids, don’t feed the Berensteins, that’s a park no-no!

Samuel Berman – Berman does a ton for us. In addition to throwing together the ROH Roundtables, he gives us 411’s Buy or Sell and Ryan Byers – Ryan does entirely too much, the busy bastard. You’re probably familiar with his Impact Crater and Custom Made News Report, but he also does other things, like podcasts and reviewing DVDs for the Movie Zone… like shows that may or may not have come on directly after 90210 and may or may not have been a direct or indirect result of a certain father of Tori Spelling running FOX. …Fuck it, Heather Locklear is to this day hot… you can check his full archive here

Steve Cook – Ah, Cook. Cook is a self proclaimed man of the people. After all, if he wasn’t, how could he answer all your questions in Ask 411 every week? *achem Steve… achem*!

Larry Csonka – ‘nuff said. Does it all, and put in some heavy work in these awards, even picking up some slack from some people that didn’t show. Did I say some people? I meant one person.

Jerome Cusson – Jerome reviews a bunch of stuff, from movies to television; either way, he’s a busy guy for the Movie Zone.

Theo Fraser – He writes for the Games Zone, more importantly the Brad Garoon – BG covers indys. Because BG Says So!.

Randy Harrison – Randy comes to us from the MMA Zone. He brings the news, he reviews, and he also gives his views in Five Rounds.

Chris Lansdell – Lansdell is a wrestling guy, and I would tell you something specific about him, but the fact of the matter is that you can click on his column, and you will literally be exposed to EVERYTHING. He covers it all, and every week his topics range from everything from the E to TNA to overseas to… videos! Either way, by the end of the column, you’ll know The Way He C’s It.

John Meehan – In an often brutal IWC, Meehoss is our puppies and hugs guy (that is a compliment for those who are not sure) and my 2nd favorite positive writer at 411 (what? Like I’m supposed to not be biased!). He does some DVD review work, but mostly he breaks things down for us in The Meethinks Friday FreeThinks.

Mike Minotti

Sat – Sat is also a pretty positive guy, and is the ying to Uncle Trux’s yang in their weekly column, High Road/Low Road, in which they debate various topics from the wrestling world.

Matthew Sforcina – Matthew, our resident Aussie, is a 411 veteran around these parts. I’m sure most of you are familiar with his Evolution Schematics, but recently he also added to the new hit column The Un-Dream Match (Chyna vs. Warrior!? Good times).

Scott Slimmer – Slimmer is currently involved in the longest running feud in 411mania history with Jeff Small. I could tell you more about it, but they recap WWE Heat, so I am unable to follow the action. To Slimmers credit, he has stepped up big time the last month and a half with his fill ins and also things like 411’s PPV Instant Access

Daniel Wilcox – Wilcox is British, that is all…..

….okay just kidding. Wilcox has also been stepping up with his fill ins lately, and when not doing that he is our regular RAW recapper!

And I am your host, James “JT” Thomlison! I don’t have anything recent to plug, but I will remind everyone of the HISTORY MAKING EDITION OF MOVIES FACT OR FICTION, in which myself and George Sirois did something that will never be done again! ….unless of course, we get invited back on the same week again. Now then…

Honorable Mentions: “The Professor” Mike Tenay (TNA – 5 points), Disco Machine (PWG – 2.5 points), Lenny Leonard (ROH – 8.5 points)

3rd Place: Dave Prazak (ROH) – 37.5 points – Currently commentates for ROH while simultaneously promoting SHIMMER. He is a very busy, yet very entertaining guy.

2nd Place: Jim Ross (WWE RAW) – 82 points – What can you say about JR? In 2007, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and was again the voice and face of RAW and in many ways the WWE in general.

And your winner is…:

Randy Harrison: Announcing has been something that has always been a bit of an issue with me when it comes to the WWE product. They all sound the same and they all spout out the same buzz words and phrases about people being so large that “television doesn’t do them justice” or that when you get chopped by so and so “it’s like getting hit in the chest with a frying pan”. I’ve heard them time and time and time again and it really gets on my nerves because it does nothing to get over any of the talent and it doesn’t do anything in terms of getting fans to actually care about the performers that are in the ring. John Bradshaw Layfield will be SORELY missed at the announce table because he was someone who managed to avoid the trappings of the other announcers currently under WWE employ and actually make me care about who was in the ring. He was topical without it seeming forced, he was a wrestling historian capable of making connections from great performers of the past to current talent, he had a great interplay with Michael Cole, and he was able to be a heel announcer that still gave grudging respect to the faces for doing things above and beyond in the ring. He stepped into the role of announcer so naturally and did it so well that you’d think that he had been doing it for years and years previously before taking over the reigns on Smackdown color commentary. If you’re good at what you do in wrestling, you can generally get yourself over. If you’re great at what you do in wrestling, you can get yourself over while being able to bring guys along with you and get them over too. JBL was great as an announcer as he was able to put himself over and become the darling of the IWC that once reviled him as champion, as well as putting over all of the young talent on Smackdown that needed that kind of rub from someone with the credibility of JBL to break out as stars. He made himself better by being the best announcer that the WWE had, Jim Ross included, and he made the show better by going past the cliches and the usual talking points and making me actually care about the storylines and athletes in the ring. JBL is the announcer of the year this year, and I can safely say, announcer of the year any year that he dons the headset and gets behind the mic.

Brad Garoon: Who would have thought a couple of years ago that by the end of 2007 JBL would not only be generally considered the most entertaining color man in the WWE but would also be gearing up for a return to the ring that the fans weren’t dreading. Sure Chris Jericho seems wasted in an angle like this, but there’s little doubt that the matches between the two will entertain. One has to wonder what will become of the Smackdown commentating team. With any luck it will remain as quality-filled as it’s been under the control of the JBL-Michael Cole duo. I have a feeling that without JBL’s quick wit we will all see a drop-off in quality. We all know how scary it is when Michael Cole goes through his ‘getting used to a new partner’ phase. Here’s hoping that the in-ring product that John Bradshaw Layfield puts out is equal to the lack of excellence on the Smackdown announce team.

Matthew Sforcina: An announcer, despite what many fans hope and what Joey Styles once famously said, are not there to call moves. You want someone to just call moves, then I’m sure someone’s building a computer to do that soon enough. But on the other end of the spectrum, a good announcer, a great announcer, should give some degree of realism and respect to the in-ring stuff. He can’t just toss out one liners all the time, or go off on tangents about random stuff. A great announcer needs to walk a fine line between treating the in ring product as a sport, treating it as a show, and above all, putting the guys in the ring over. JBL over the past year has done that to a tee. More than any other guy, he’s brought a degree of sense and logic to his authority (he’s a former WWE Champ and long time vet, of course he’ll know about lots of things), he’s put on a hell of a show when he’s had to (JBL + Hornswoggle = More tildes than can fit on my computer), and, in every second breath, he’s putting over someone. Be it comparing Lashley to Rick Rude, constantly talking about The Miz and how much he hates him (and thus why you should too) and the Matt Hardy love, JBL has done everything right, he’s ticked every box in being a color announcer. But please John, for the love of money, don’t step back in the ring. You’re above that now.

Steve Cook: Who would have thought that the Wrestling God would ever become a smark favorite? John “Bradshaw” Layfield has been despised by these here Internets ever since I can remember. When he came into the WWF, they said he was a lame Stan Hansen ripoff. When he was a New Blackjack everybody crapped on it because…well, the New Blackjacks sucked. When he was an Acolyte, people complained about how he stiffed people in the ring and stiffed people in the showers (allegedly). When he became the WWE Champion, people bitched and moaned that he couldn’t carry Eddie Guerrero’s jock and crapped on his entire title reign…until he lost to John Cena. It wasn’t until JBL entered the Smackdown broadcast booth that the Internet finally accepted the Wall Street Maverick as one heck of an entertaining performer. Here’s hoping his in-ring return goes as well as his commentating stint went…and that he can return to the booth one day.

Honorable Mentions: Moscow the Communist Bovine (CHIKARA – 2), Ted Dibiase, Jr. (NOAH/WWE Developmental – 19), YAMATO (Dragon Gate – 7)

3rd Place: Chuck Taylor (IWA:MS/CHIKARA) – 49 points – Has had a fabulous year for IWA: Mid-South, only recently losing the IWA:MS World Championship to then Light Heavyweight Champion Mike Quackenbush, then gaining the Light Heavyweight Championship from Quackenbush in a four-way that saw Quackenbush put both of his titles on the line.

2nd Place: Cody Rhodes (WWE RAW) – 51 points – In only a half year on RAW, he had a brief program with Randy Orton, and feuded with Hardcore Holly which flourished into him and Holly winning the World Tag Team Championship in front of his father Dusty at the RAW 15th Anniversary Special.

And your winner is…:

Daniel Wilcox: Let’s get one thing straight, if this award was all about wrestling skills, than Santino Marella probably wouldn’t be anywhere near this award, but lucky for him, it’s not, and here we are. Santino has become one of the most entertaining characters in the entire world of wrestling and he’s also done it against the odds. Let us not forget that Santino debuted as an afterthought in a failing Lashley/McMahon feud. Sure, he got his big debut win against Umaga and won the Intercontinental Championship, but from there it was all downhill. He became the generic babyface who was getting fluke wins left and right against the likes of Chris Masters. Eventually, the crowd grew tired of him and he dropped the title to Umaga and a new Santino was born. With Mari-AH by his side, Marella has shown in the last six months that he has natural charisma and knows how to use it. His funny one-liners have been the highlight of many an episode of Raw and his presence made the likes of the WWE Dating Game and WWE Idol some of the more entertaining segments this year. It’s a sign of how good he’s been that he never backed down when faced by Stone Cold Steve Austin, though he still took a stunner, and he took it like a pro (they tried to make him watch the Condemned but I said, no, no, no!) Santino is a tremendous heel, and long may that continue in 2008! Here’s to hoping he improves on them wrestling skills and he’s allowed to get the odd win though.

Michael Bauer: Ah, Santino Marella, the luckiest son of a freaking gun in the WWE right now. Don’t believe me? Just look at who is hanging off his arm right now and you know I’m not freaking kidding. But I digress, Santino Marella had a very odd start to his WWE career, as he was planted as a fan when the WWE traveled to Italy. From there, with the help of Bobby Lashley, he became the second person since the “brand split” to win a WWE in his very first televised WWE match when he beat Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship. The first was Carlito, which is odd and ironic with the new team they formed. But anyway, Santino spent a few weeks being that happy go lucky kid who got a few fluke wins over Chris Masters and making the fans turn on him. Eventually, Umaga won the title back and Santino became less important until he turned heel. At that moment, Santino really grew into his role, being that fiery Italian, but with a lot more humor than those before him. His ability to battle with a war of words has been amazing, especially with the likes of Chris Jericho, Jerry Lawler, and Stone Cold. Yes, his wrestling ability needs plenty of work, but his ability while carrying a microphone has been not been matched by a new talent in a very long time. So whether Santino was getting hit with a can of the ass whip, making fun of Jillian Garcia’s music, or making love to his sweet Maria, he entertained us on the microphone, making his impact in a different way than most others. If the guy can get that in ring ability up to being decent, Santino will have a great future in this business.

Matthew Sforcina: Does anyone even remember Santino as a face? Anyone? He was just so bland and uninteresting, he and Maria had no chemistry, and while he’s not the worst IC champ in history (The Mountie, Jeff Jarrett, Dean Douglas, Ahmed Johnson, Road Dogg, Chyna, Rikishi, Billy Gunn, Albert, Carlito, one of them you must admit is below mere mediocrity), he was nothing special. He lost the belt fairly quickly and decisively, and then he got injured. And in a last ditch, Hail Mary shot, they turned him heel. Sure, standard anti-American foreigners have been done to death, but it tended to work. And at worst, Santino has worked as a standard Anti-US Foreigner. But at best, Santino has become a true highlight of Raw, almost solely for his promos. Tub of Ass-Whip anyone? Really, Santino gets this for proving that sometimes you have the right pieces to work. You just gotta twist them around slightly. (That said, part of this award sorta belongs to Maria, whose bewildered rabbit character has changed slightly to become the Straight Man for Santino that he needs, ala Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. And just like with Dean Martin, you might ask what she does? She makes Santino funny. And I think I therefore win the Medal for most bizarre, obscure reference/analogy in these awards. Huzzah!)

Ryan Byers: It seems like just yesterday that Santino Marella was nothing more than “the guy Jim Cornette slapped for laughing at the Boogeyman.” However, in the spring of 2007, Marella came out of nowhere to become the Intercontinental Champion, pinning Umaga when that sort of thing was still special. Unfortunately, after his debut match, things started to fall apart for young Santino. Perhaps because it is no longer 1960, people were not that interested in the wide-eyed European immigrant with a dream gimmick. This, combined with the fact that Marella’s lack of experience prevents him from wrestling at the level most people expect from a Raw midcarder, made things appear bleak. Rumors of his impending release swirled around the internet, but then something magical happened. In a last ditch effort to salvage his career, Santino was turned heel, adopting the persona of a pompous Italian whose grasp on American culture and the English language both leave something to be desired. For some reason, Marella took to this role like a fish takes to water, and he not only began garnering legitimate heel heat but also became one of the most entertaining WWE characters in the latter half of 2007. He still can’t wrestle all that well, but his recent mini-feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin proved that the former IC Champion has the chops on the microphone necessary to stand up to veterans and to be a player for years to come.

Honorable Mentions: John Morrison (WWE ECW – 14), AJ Styles (TNA – 1), Takeshi Morishima (ROH – 15)

3rd Place: The Amazing/Awesome Kong (SHIMMER/TNA) – 35 points – Current NWA World Women’s Champion, and has racked up an impressive 7 – 2 record over the past 10 weeks, with her only two defeats coming to SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Ray and TNA Women’s Champion Gail Kim.

2nd Place: CM Punk (WWE ECW) – 58 points – His stock continued to rise in ECW, and he was involved in one of the hottest feuds of the year with John Morrison. He is also in the midst of a four month ECW Championship title reign.

And your winner is…:

Ryan Byers: When Montel Porter made his debut on WWE Smackdown at the end of last year, I viewed him as a gimmick wrestler and nothing more. I thought that they character had potential since it was ripped out of today’s headlines, but as a wrestler he appeared to have few to no redeeming qualities. His matches with Kane in 2006 were dreadful, and he didn’t show that much potential against non-Kane opponents either. However, Porter began to turn things around in the ring in the early part of 2007 thanks to a series of matches against Chris Benoit. Though the feud began with Benoit clearly carrying Porter through their contests, as the months dragged on it appeared that the former Antonio Banks was beginning to hold up more and more of his end of the bargain. He wasn’t quite Benoit’s equal by the time that their rivalry came to an end, but he was the United States Champion, and he was one of the more consistently entertaining parts of Smackdown, both in his matches and in his interviews. The trend continued when he transitioned from Benoit to Matt Hardy, and it’s continued again as he has transitioned from Hardy to Rey Misterio. Porter is the most promising young star on Smackdown, and I would go as far as to say that he’s the most promising young star in all of WWE, showing more potential to be a long-term success than Ken Kennedy, Carlito, Johnny Nitro, and CM Punk.

Samuel Berman: What a long way MVP has come from jobbing out to Homicide in a bad match on a forgotten ROH pre-show. In the past year, MVP has established himself as one of the most reliable performers in all of World Wrestling Entertainment, with his feud and partnership with the criminally underrated Matt Hardy being one of the true bright spots for the company in a year filled with scandal, injury and disappointment. It remains to be seen whether MVP will be able to take the next step up the ladder and help to carry the weight of one of WWE’s brands on his shoulders, but in his move from relative obscurity to the upper mid-card, he has shown a penchant for producing solid work both in and out of the ring.

Larry Csonka: At the beginning I will admit that I was cold on MVP. Much of it had to do with the booking of him, and part of it had to do with the fact that I didn’t feel he was ready enough for a push like they had planned. And for a while I felt that he floundered, with occasional glimpses of greatness coming through. And then the feud with Benoit happened. Yes I am using “that” name, if you don’t like it, piss off. Anyway, MVP feuded with Benoit and they had good matches with MVP getting closer to winning the match each time, but usually Benoit eventually prevailing. Then in May of 2007, MVO won the title from Chris Benoit in a 2 of three falls match, and not only that but in TWO STRAIGHT FALLS. And timing wise it worked out perfectly. His wrestling had vastly improved while working with Benoit for months, all the while we got to see his personality grow and come through on the mic. He became a complete performer, and then rapidly grew from there in the feud with Matt Hardy. Sure there have been problems, Hardy gets injured, Hardy has surgery, MVP has some wacky heart condition and such, which in turn made the competitions last forever. But the promo work by MVP when he couldn’t do much was excellent, his ring works continues to improve and the full-blown attack and turn on Hardy was tremendous. Add in extras like the promo he cut on JBL on WWE.com and you have all the evidence that you need for a Breakout Star of the Year Award. It is cases like this that I LOVE that my first assessment was wrong. Thanks for proving me wrong MVP and thanks for making my job more fun.

Matthew Sforcina: Have you ever seen something that was just… there? A run down old car, a dented computer, a cheap bottle of wine. It’s there, it’s OK, but it’s nothing special. You look away, focus on something else, then come back, and suddenly, you see it in a different light, you turn it on, you try the bottle when you’re not drunk, and suddenly, it’s awesome. That (rather strained) metaphor does describe MVP fairly well. For a while, he was just another guy. Nothing special, just average, with a stupid outfit. And then he and Matt Hardy began to interact, and suddenly, he was ON. MVP showed charisma out the wazoo, his in-ring work improved a great deal, and he and Hardy were the highlight of Smackdown and arguably the best thing in Wrestling in 2007 full stop. Matt stepped up, and MVP was right there with him, and for once, so was the booking. This is, I think, more a vote of confidence in all three stars aligning just right, but MVP certainly earned this. I just hope he flips a few bucks to Matt Hardy and Hayes or whoever wrote their stuff.

Honorable Mentions: Chris Jericho (WWE RAW – 13), Jeff Hardy (WWE – 1), Austin Aries (ROH – 14)

3rd Place: The Undertaker (WWE SmackDown!) – 26 points – Pretty self explanatory; he carried momentum from 2006 and took it to new heights. He won the Royal Rumble, remained undefeated at WrestleMania while winning his first World Heavyweight Championship (5th world title overall) and remained champion until injury sidelined him in late 2007. Returned recently and is right back in the main-event scene.

2nd Place: “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson (ROH/PWG) – 47 points – First, he came back after three months of missing action due to two torn tendons (after finally ending his 1 year title reign), THEN returned from a detached retina injury (at one point his eye rolled into the back of his head; obviously this injury required surgery) to active competition and is 9-5-1 since returning to singles action.

And your winner is…:

Ryan Byers: There has been a lot of talk of the WWE’s “saviors” this year, with Chris Jericho’s return vignettes first popularizing the term and then every wrestling fanboy on the planet taking the phrase from Y2J and applying it to his own favorite wrestler. However, there is only one man who can be labeled as the guy to “save” WWE in 2007. On January 7, at the New Year’s Revolution pay per view, Triple H tore his quadriceps, putting him out of action for several months. This threw WWE’s plans for its flagship event Wrestlemania in to turmoil, as HHH was set to main event against WWE Champion John Cena. Cue Shawn Michaels. Much like he saved the tag team match in which Trips was injured, he saved the entire build to Wrestlemania by stepping in to his best friend’s slot and providing what in all likelihood was a more compelling build to the WM main event than anything HHH could have been involved in. While HBK’s work in the Cena feud helped WWE, it also helped Michaels cement his place in history. Though Shawn was the WWF Champion many times in the mid-to-late-90’s, his runs with the title were during some of the Fed’s worst financial periods. Thus, even though everybody agrees that he is one of the best in-ring performers of all time, HBK’s status as a “draw” was a little bit more suspect. In headlining one of the most successful wrestling events of the last decade, Michaels has now proven that he can still perform at a high level and that he can bring fans in to the arenas just as well as any of his contemporaries. For that, he truly is the comeback wrestler of the year.

Brad Garoon: The sad fact is that this category is FILLED with wrestlers because of the increased injury rate in wrestling. Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Bryan Danielson, Jimmy Jacobs, Rey Mysterio, Edge and Undertaker all went down with injuries that left them open to be contenders for this category. Many of them have done big things since coming back. Danielson has had amazing matches against McGuinness & Takeshi Morishima. Jacobs started the Age of the Fall. Rey has made a run at the United States title. Undertaker got back in the World title hunt while Edge actually captured the title.

What makes HBK’s accomplishment great is that he came back earlier than expected to bail out a company in trouble. Cena got hurt (oy) and Orton was given the title over the returning Triple H (seeing a pattern?). Michaels came in and immediately gave Orton credibility by putting on fantastic, storyline driven matches with him. Now Orton is able to carry the title into a feud with the newest addition to the main event scene, Jeff Hardy, with the aura of a champion about him. That’s thanks to HBK, who will no doubt go on to do the same thing for someone else.

Ari Berenstein: The Heartbreak Kid should really be called the Comeback Kid at this point. He did it in 2002 and he did again in 2007—actually, like his former student Bryan Danielson, he did it twice this year. The first comeback would be about the quality of his in-ring performances, the second being having knee surgery and coming back late in the year to once again perform. Ironically it was Triple H going down with another quad injury that elicited the first comeback, while Triple H’s return eight months later helped to cover for HBK’s absence in the ring. The in-ring comeback came back the second HBK knew that the tag match with Triple H against Rated RKO was in jeopardy of flaming out. Michaels turned it on and became a one man show, leading all of those involved and bumping around like it was 1996 all over again. The next four months were all about HBK’s in-ring renaissance and it was clear he was being positioned for the main event spot as the aging veteran against the young but promising champion in John Cena. Not only was his Wrestlemania 23 match against Cena quality, but the rematch during Raw may have been one of his finest moments at any point in his career. The story itself was incredibly intriguing, with HBK teaming up with Cena in the build to their match but everyone aware that could pull the Superkick out on Cena at any time. HBK played brilliant mind games with the champ and it led to him being built up the guy who had the best chance of taking the belt from Cena. This made it all the better when Cena won—thus having another huge Wrestlemania title defense.

Shawn’s second comeback, after returning from knee surgery has been just as emotionally satisfying. HBK is still clearly feeling the pain in his knees as he has been slower in the ring than he was post surgery, but HBK’s value cannot be denied. He helped create enough attention and buzz in his matches against Orton, once again making a champion a “champion” by the quality of the defenses he made against a worthy challenger. Now he is being given the task of battling it out with Ken Kennedy. HBK was not stopped by injury in 2007 and it looks like 2008 we will continue to enjoy some more of the best comeback wrestler in the twenty first century aside from Kenta Kobashi, The Comeback Kid himself, Shawn Michaels.

Matthew Sforcina: Hulk Hogan once cut a promo calling himself the (with slight paraphrasing) beaten up broken down jalopy that just kept going despite itself as opposed to the new shiny Mr. Wonderful that he had become. If anyone this year proved that they were substance above style, could still go despite everything, and was the guy to save the WWE when it needed to be, it was Shawn Michaels. HHH gets another leg injury? Shawn’s there to fill the gap and produce a couple of amazing matches with John Cena and a lot more interesting story (even if he should have won at WM for me). There’s a bunch of guys who need guidance in the ring? Shawn leads them by the nose and gets great matches out of most of them. Then he gets an injury, takes time off, then comes back early because the WWE needs him, and once again, Shawn Comes Back. The guy proves himself every night, and that is why he gets this aware, because he kept coming back from adversary, when lesser men would have thrown in the towel.

Honorable Mentions: Project 161/Age of the Fall is revealed as not being Paul Heyman or ECW alumni (5), Samoa Joe vs. Mitsuhara Misawa not taking place in the United States, thanks TNA for withdrawing contracted talent from ROH events (1), Tag Team wrestling in WWE (1).

3rd Place: John Cena is forced by injury to vacate the WWE Title, and thus is unable to compete in the Last Man Standing match with Randy Orton or end their blood feud (WWE) – 19 points – Cena has put on some very impressive Last Man Standing matches in his career; shame we didn’t get to see this one.

2nd Place: The booking of the Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe feud (TNA) – 31.5 points – Free TV matches, sub-part PPV matches, silly storylines… something that could have been fantastic was utterly mishandled.

And your winner is…:

Jerome Cusson: Samoa Joe not winning the world title this year would be like Hulk Hogan not winning the world title in 1984 or Ric Flair not winning the world title at Starrcade 1993. Samoa Joe could have been the franchise that gave the TNA world championship the credibility it needed. Just think if Joe was in his eighth or ninth month as champion and if he had beaten a parade of superstars clean in the middle of the ring. All these guys like Booker T, Kurt Angle, Christian, and even Nash, Hall, and Rikishi are just rehashes from the past. The only way for TNA to clearly convince anyone they mean anything in professional wrestling is to build a new star to carry the company.

His name was Samoa Joe. A twenty one month title reign in ROH elevated him and the belt. Joe could have done the same with TNA. Why he has not been allowed to dominate like he was from 2003-2006 in ROH is anyone’s guess. Politics has to have played a role because there is no logical reason. Fans chant his name and were practically awaiting his inevitable win. Here we are though at the end of 2007 and Samoa Joe seems farther than ever becoming the TNA world champion.

Brad Garoon: Samoa Joe’s farewell to ROH tour left me with a sour taste in my mouth. On his way out of the company he didn’t put anyone over in any meaningful way and completely overshadowed his opponents. Some have said this point of view is whiny, but to them I say look at Cabana’s farewell tour from a short time later to see a truly classy exit from ROH. After watching Joe destroy the ROH main event scene on his way out I didn’t think I’d care one lick about what happened to him in TNA. I was wrong.

After what seems like a dozen false starts Samoa Joe has yet to become a credible main eventer in TNA. Despite fans and announcers alike calling him one of the best wrestlers in the world Joe is treated like a jobber to the stars in TNA. Every time he is put in a big match situation he loses. What good are a dozen X-Division title runs when the belt has been rendered meaningless? Are we supposed to get behind him because he won the Turkey bowl? If booking a wrestling company was that easy than we’d see scores of tournaments a year. As it is we’re left with Joe as a shadow of the wrestler he was in ROH due to a lack of passion. I suppose all we can hope for are more worked-shoot interviews from the Samoan Submission Machine.

Larry Csonka: When it comes to TNA I have a certain point of view on the company. I have watched it since day one, know the history inside and out and try to give them some rope on certain things. One of those things are long term angles. But then, in the past that has gotten me bit in the ass. A good example would be giving Raven the title way too late to mean anything. And it is funny that I use that comparison here because the winner for the Disappointment of the Year Award (as far as storylines goes) is the fact that Samoa Joe failed to win the TNA Title, even when they had plenty of chances to pull the trigger. But the fact is that they didn’t do it. They went with Christian Cage (who has been great all year), we had Kurt Angle as Champion (who himself had a good year) to Sting (who got the shit title run again) and then we went back to Angle. Now the problem isn’t that they chose these men as champion, but the booking around it. The main thing is that TNA has for a lot of the year been the Kurt Angle Show, and with that being said, Joe ended up looking like a second-class citizen. The TNA fan base was ready for him to take the title, Joe is ready to carry the title, TNA had the chance to show that they are the alternative with a fresh face as the champion, but in the end they never had the balls to pull the trigger, and that is the true disappointment.

Steve Cook: Does it count as a disappointment when you’re not really surprised? Samoa Joe’s all about shooting these days, so let me do a little shooting of my own here. Joe, I’ve been watching your stuff lately in TNA and I’ve arrived at the following conclusion: You’re not who we thought you were. You used to be the kind of guy who’d charge into a promotion, kick ass and take names later. Now, you’re content to just sit on your butt and bitch and moan about how all the older talent is holding you down. Joe, the only thing holding you back is yourself. The reason you haven’t won the TNA title isn’t because of the politics. It’s not because Kurt Angle or Jeff Jarrett or Kevin Nash or whoever is talking smack about you to Vince Russo & Dutch Mantell & Dixie Carter. The reason you haven’t won the TNA title is quite simple…you haven’t earned it. You used to be an ass kicker, but in 2007 you’ve been anything but that. You left ROH with your tail between your legs, making snide comments about bad booking that wasn’t going to help your cause in TNA. Maybe you’re not physically capable of doing what you used to do. Maybe you’re too beat up. I would know nothing about the pain that a professional wrestler goes through every day. But here’s the thing…you don’t have to complain about it. If you really don’t care and are a businessman like you say you are, just collect your money. If somebody offers you a better deal when your TNA contract expires, take it. But please…spare us your bitching. 2008 is put up or shut up time, Joe. Bottom line.

Honorable Mentions: CHIKARA King of Trios Night 3 (02.18.07 – 6), PWG Battle of Los Angeles Night 3 (09.02.07 – 16), PWG Dynamite Duumvarite Tag Team Title Tag Tournament (05.20.07 – 5)

3rd Place: IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational Night 2 (09.29.07) – 25 points

2nd Place: ROH Manhattan Mayhem II (08.25.07) – 29 points

And your winner is…:

Samuel Berman: I was concerned that in voting for Ring of Honor’s Good Times, Great Memories show that my judgment was colored by having been there live at ringside. What I witnessed that night remains one of the all-time best wrestling shows, featuring debatably the best tag team match in Ring of Honor history as well as a fitting farewell for one of the promotion’s most consistently entertaining performers. As votes continued to come in, however, it became clear that others who had not been able to attend the show were as captivated by the in-ring product as I was, confirming my belief that this show was clearly the best of the year in Independent wrestling, and possibly in professional wrestling as a whole. Beyond the top two matches, this show features a surprisingly excellent ROH World Title match as well as a number of tremendous mid-card contests featuring some of the best talent in the world. This show is further testament to Ring of Honor’s level of excellence, as it actually took place with a depleted roster, as a number of ROH regulars were across the Atlantic competing in the King of Europe Cup and unable to be a part of ROH on that night. This show absolutely defines the term ‘must-own’.

Chris Lansdell: On paper, there were better cards than this in 2007. But that’s why they don’t have matches on paper. April was a hell of a month for wrestling, with Mania, the Cena-HBK 1 hour classic, and more, but for me this event tops the lot.

There are those who will tell you that the Briscoes/Murder City Machine Guns match was the only memorable one on the card. While it was certainly the best, one would be remiss to ignore the good 6-man opener, the great Morishima-SHINGO title match, the excellent farewell promo by Christopher Daniels, and the very good 4-corner match that said farewell to Homicide. And, of course, Cabana’s farewell, which was done very well and put over a lot of people who needed it. Unlike a certain large Samoan.

In most years, this event would not have made top 5, not because it wasn’t good, but because others were insanely good. But this year, even if you include pay per views, I’d still rank it 4th or 5th at the worst. The fact that a tiny promotion, with most of its talent being leeched off by TNA and to a lesser extent WWE, can routinely put on great events with great matches, including arguably the only 5-star match on North American soil this year, is impressive to say the least. Go order it. Now.

Ari Berenstein: This show was in many ways the end of the end for many longstanding ROH talents and the beginning of the beginning of a whole new chapter for the company. There was amazing wrestling, dramatic and captivating promos and a feel good, feel great ending to the show that captures the essence of what professional wrestlers do what they do for a living—the outpouring of love and affection that comes from friends, family and fans when you do what you do right. Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Briscoes is for many the very definition of what a tag team match should mean in the year 2007 regardless that I didn’t think it was as good as almost all of the other writers on this site and others than follow ROH and independent wrestling. Certainly it highlights the important point that the ROH tag division is still the best of the “big three” wrestling companies with plenty of active competition and believable contenders for the title.

There are excellent twists and turns on this card, from Christopher Daniels’ mock farewell promo to Tank Toland taking on Bobby Dempsey as his fitness trainee. SHINGO goes with a balls out performance against Morishima in what was the best match of the Dragon Gate wrestler’s ROH tenure. Roderick Strong and Jack Evans fight it out in a match almost as good as their ASE 3 showdown. All that PLUS another classic Jimmy Jacobs promo and the memorable goodbye from Cabana (and the DVD is filled with Cabana’s best moments in ROH) make this the first non-PPV ROH show that you should purchase if you want to find out what the best of ROH in 2007 was all about.

Theo Fraser: From top to bottom this was just a spectacular card, made even more special by the fact that it heralded Colt Cabana’s final ROH appearance prior to heading for OVW. The show receives most praise due to the awe-inspiring tag team showcase put on by the Briscoes and the Murder City Machine Guns, which really drilled home how underutilised the MCMGs are in TNA, and solidified both teams right at the top of the tag team ranks on the indy scene. Whilst that tag match is undoubtedly a MOTYC, I feel that many people overlooked the tremendous World Title match that also took place on this show. Morishima defended against SHINGO in a classic match and was probably the turning point in Morishima’s title reign. SHINGO looked absolutely fantastic, and it’s likely in part due to this match that fans have been crying out for him to make a return to the promotion. Of course, we can’t forget the undercard, which perfectly complemented the balls-to-the-wall action of the main events. Christopher Daniels and Erick Stevens had a very solid 15 minute match which helped to put over Stevens in the eyes of the ROH fans, and then Daniels went on to cut my personal favourite promo of the year, ripping on the fans and the company before walking out, never to return. At times, Daniels is a GOD on the mic, and this was one of those occasions. This was just one of those events where everything clicked and everything went right. All the matches delivered, the wrestlers were on top form, the fans were into the show, and all of that combined to produce a terrific total package. You need to go out of your way to see this.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part 2, and again on Thursday and Friday for Part 3 and Part 4!