RAW this Monday will feature the 2012 Slammy Awards. The idea of an awards show during a scripted program that concerns a scripted sport is a little absurd, but that's kinda what I like about it. If you think about it too hard, there usually is someone who deserves each award more than anyone else. The winners are usually pretty obvious (and lame), but that doesn't stop me every year from mulling over who I would give each award to. Well, this year is different. This year, I have a blog and some friends who also want to share their opinion. So here we go...
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Aaron:
Superstar of the Year: John Cena
I think it's become fairly stale at this point to hate on John Cena, and in my opinion he's done his best in the last year to silence his critics by breaking the fourth wall and addressing the "smart marks" that criticize him. Say what you want about Cena and his squeaky clean image, but he's the face of the WWE and he will continue to be the biggest draw in the company for years to come regardless of how many matches he loses and how many championships he holds. And, the fact that he does so much charity work and gives back to the less fortunate makes him a true superstar in my book. Plus, he totally schooled The Rock on the mic during their promo battles leading into Wrestlemania.
Breakout Star of the Year: Daniel Bryan
The former "American Dragon" has come a long way in the last year, and while he's working in the tag team division at the moment, he had a great run as one of the top heels in the WWE and really got over with audiences in a major way. Not that he wasn't well-known before, but he went from being an indie darling to being recognized on a much larger scale. At this point, I think it's safe to say that his career in the indies no longer overshadows his work in the WWE and that people can separate Daniel Bryan from Brian Danielson. Where this current tag team run with Kane will take him, who knows, but he's proven to be a reliable worker who can do great things with just about anyone he's paired up with.
Trending Now Award: #whocares
The last thing I do when I watch wrestling is check to see what's trending on Twitter, so I have no idea. Plus, I think they're just making the shit up half the time when they say "so and so is trending worldwide!"
Comeback of the Year: Jerry Lawler
The dude had a heart attack during a live broadcast and literally died before being resurrected by paramedics. The fact that this wrestling legend is not only still alive but back on television makes this the true comeback story of the year.
Kiss of the Year: A.J. and half the WWE roster
I haven't exactly kept a tab on who's been kissing who this year, so I guess I'll go with this year's breakout diva A.J. and her make out sessions with CM Punk, Kane, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena. Did I miss anyone? I wonder which one of them was the best kisser LOL!
Tell Me I Just Didn't See That Award: Hornswoggle's Legs
Remember when Hornswoggle teamed up with Brodus Clay and wore a little miniature singlet? His tiny little midget legs creeped me out.
LOL Moment of the Year: Hug It Out
The Anger Management angle between Kane and Daniel Bryan culminated with a segment on RAW where they had to hug each other in the middle of the ring. One of the few attempts at comedy by the WWE this year that really worked for me. What made it even funnier is the fact that you could clearly see Kane and especially Daniel Bryan trying their best not to laugh while this ridiculousness was going on.
Match of the Year: The Undertaker vs. Triple H (Wrestlemania)
I'm not gonna lie, I don't nearly watch as much WWE as I used to. The product barely appeals to me and I've mostly been getting acquainted with CHIKARA in 2012 as far as my wrestling viewing goes, so it's hard for me to pick a true Match of the Year. My favorite match that I saw this year was probably Undertaker vs. Triple H in Hell In A Cell at Wrestlemania, with Shawn Michaels as the Special Guest Ref. If there's three guys who know how to tell a story in the ring and exploit the emotions of the audience, it's the three men involved in this match. At this point, The Undertaker is a special attraction, Triple H is semi-retired, and Shawn Michaels is retired from the ring and makes occasional appearances for the company, which made this match even more special for me. I was apprehensive about Taker's return, but he proved to be far from rusty in this brutal match with Triple H. I also liked how Shawn Michaels came into play as the guest referee. There were some great spots in this match and some good false finishes that kept me on the edge of my seat. In past years, either The Undertaker or Shawn Michaels have been involved in what I would consider my WWE Matches of the Year, so I think this is the logical choice for me.
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Justin:
Superstar of the Year: CM Punk
Spent the entire year as WWE Champion and, though he was overshadowed from time to time, took down a bevy of talented wrestlers (including John Cena, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Kane, The Big Show & Ryback, to name a few).
Breakout Star of the Year: Ryback.
Love him or hate him, he's made quite the impact. From squashing jobbers to competing in the main event for the WWE Championship. Only time will tell if he can keep this momentum going, but, for the time being, he's on fire.
Trending Now Award: ??
I believe this is done during the show and whoever gets the most trends win. I think Zack Ryder won something like this last year.
Comeback of the Year: Brock Lesnar
More of a return than a comeback, but Brock Lesnar making the quite the impact the night after Wrestlemania. He may have lost to John Cena, but it was a hard fought battle. He came back with a huge victory over Triple H at Summerslam and proved his drawing power by having those two PPVs be among the higher grossing ones this year.
Kiss of the Year: A.J & Kane
Out of all the men A.J. kissed this year, her smooch with Kane was the most memorable. Her hopping into his arms and wrapping her legs around him while cramming her tongue down his throat was both hot and awkward. I didn't think that was possible.
Tell Me I Just Didn't see that Award: Mae Young's son
Hand is all grown up and makes an appearance at RAW 1000. Never thought I'd see them reference the hand ever again.
LOL Moment of the Year: Kane Discusses His Life In Anger Management
I had a friend (who never watched wrestling much) ask me what Kane's story was. I simply played him the video of Kane detailing his tumultuous life and laughed as my friend had this bewildered look on his face. When he asked who Katie Vick, I told him she never existed and that storyline never happened. End of story!
Match of the Year: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan (Over the Limit)
I never thought I'd get to say that CM Punk and Daniel Bryan wrestled for the WWE Championship on a WWE PPV, but here I am nominating one of three PPV encounters they had as my favorite match of the year. This match had it all; technical prowess, psychology, submissions, stiff kicks, high-flying maneuvers, near-falls and a hot as hell crowd!
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Mike:
Superstar of the Year: CM Punk (and Paul Heyman)
Who woulda thunk it? CM Punk has been champion this entire year! Long have I missed the days that we could go at least 3-4 ppvs without the belt changing hands (and it not being John Cena). CM Punk, along with the genius of Paul Heyman, has made me believe again! Not only because I am bias to heels, but I think his turn truly was a brilliant move. His popularity and rise to the top after last year's "pipe bomb" sort of made him look like a hypocrite in regards to his initial complaints. Now the pieces fit together perfectly.
Breakout Star of the Year: Antonio Cesaro
From his awesome matches on NXT, to his top-notch commentary with Regal, to his debut on WWE TV as some Swiss rugby dude who stole Teddy Long's woman, to his dropping that annoying extra weight in exchange for the US title, to his amazing match against Shaemus a few weeks ago on RAW, it seems Antionio has only gone up and hasn't yet hit his peek. Pre-WWE Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) was one of my favorite talents to watch on the indies as a singles wrestler as well as one-half of one of my all-time favorite tag teams, the Kings of Wrestling. I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed when Cesaro was called up into "the big league", but I tried to stay positive. Since, he has proven he's talented in so many facets of the sport including, most importantly as far as WWE is concerned, he has proven his insane strength. I see great things for Cesaro coming in 2013. He's not the kind of guy the average WWE fans will gravitate toward, but I think week in and week out he will force his talents down everyone's throats until they can’t help but appreciate him. The idea of the other half of the Kings of Wrestling being in NXT right now gives me a bit of a boner for the possibility
Trending Now Award: #fuckoff
I don’t know and I don’t care. Can I vote for the future failure and waste of millions that is Tout?
Comeback of the Year: The Slickster
The correct answer is Jerry Lawler. He literally died and came back. HE DIED! AND CAME BACK! THAT'S A COMEBACK! With that being said, I was probably more emotional when Reverend Slick came out for AJ and Bryan's wedding....to Jive Soul Bro!! And to top it all off, he's still got it, bruuttthhhaaa!!! Please come back, Slick!
Kiss of the Year: AJ & John Cena
I hate AJ. I hated the whole love triangle between her, Punk, Kane and Bryan. When AJ and Cena kissed it signified to me the end of an angle that annoyed me for what seemed like forever. That is why I picked this one. So I dont have to hear Punk say, "I dig crazy chicks" every week.
Also, it's pretty awesome how obvious it was that Cena didn’t want to be kissing her.
When did Eve kiss Cena? Was that 2012? That annoyed me. Only because it broke the Broski's heart.
Tell Me I Just Didn't see that Award: Funkasaurus Makes His Debut
From late 2011 to the first week of 2012, we got a bunch of vignettes advertising the return of Brodus Clay. Brodus was always billed like most big guys are, tough and scary. He went from NXT monster to Del Rio's bodyguard to squashing everyone on Superstars for a bit. Then we got a buncha vignettes with clips of Brodus destroying people stating that he was coming back. It seemed like they had repackaged Brodus....basically...as Brodus. Then the day came, and we got the Funkasaurous. I cannot describe how confused I was. I'm not a big fan of his, but it was a great swerve in a time when "smart" fans are rarely surprised.
LOL Moment of the Year: Team Hell No Anger Management
I’m a big fan of wacky backstage segment footage like this. WWE has always done it, but it seems like for the last 5 years or so they've rarely been memorable. Although I wish Bryan could be taken a bit more seriously, the Anger Management segments were all pretty hilarious. If I have to pick one to be the "Moment" of the year, I'll go with the whole diner segment. Between Kane's interaction with the waitress and Bryan trying meat and throwing up, I literally LOLed.
Match of the Year: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules)
When I sat down and watched Extreme Rules with my roommates, we were all curious to see how this match would play out. Lesnar was billed as unpredictable and a madman, but knowing WWE, we didn't expect too much. To our surprise the match delivered above and beyond. From the opening punches it really feels like a shoot. I remember thinking the match was going to be stopped 5 minutes in because Lesnar was getting out of control. I never thought I'd actually feel a bit bad for Cena who seemed to get taken advantage of. This is the only match from 2012 that I have watched 4 times now. It's by no means a Frank Gotch technical classic, but it's certainly the most memorable match of the year for me. When Cena becomes champ in 2013 and the dark days begin again, I'm sure I'll be revisiting this match just to see Cena bleed like he's never bled before.
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