With WrestleMania in the books, another "wrestling year" has gone by. It's time to see who were the biggest players this past year!
Streets' MVP: The Miz
While a case can be made for John Cena (who has helped carry a majority of the WWE’s biggest angles this year), he has continued to stagnate, while The Miz has continued to evolve and entertain all along the way. This year the Miz has held the United States championship, Unified Tag Team championship, and won Money in the Bank. He got a manager, (essentially) his own personal announcer, captained “Team Raw” at Bragging Rights, became the company’s top heel, and carried a 61 year-old announcer in a feud for the WWE championship (and actually made it seem credible). All of this culminating in a high-profile feud with both the Rock and John Cena where the Miz held his own against some of the best in history. The cherry on top of this amazing year is that the Miz enters this new “wrestling year” as the longest reigning WWE champion since Triple H held the belt in 2007.
Slymm's MVP: The Miz
Anyone who has read this column that we have going should know by now that I am a huge fan of the Miz. I believe that he proved this year that he is the future of the business. Out of all of the "young guns" he has been the one to snatch up the top spot. He has been the WWE champion for a number of months now, carried the first two seasons of WWE NXT and has gone toe to toe with John Cena and The Rock. From a business standpoint he has it all. He is relatively young, has looks, has a built in fan base, and is willing to do an insane amount of promotion for the company. While some have said that he bit a little bit of Chris Jericho's previous gimmick, maybe another Chris Jericho is not a bad thing.
Streets' Rookie of the Year: Wade Barrett
The current Intercontinental champion has had an amazing year winning the first season of NXT, leading the two biggest factions in the WWE, headlining many pay-per-views, and coming within inches of the WWE championship. While there have been other great rookies this year like Del Rio and Bryan, none have done quite as much as Barrett this year when looking at sheer impact.
Slymm's Rookie of the Year: Alberto Del Rio
For a while it looked like this would be Barrett's award to claim but the last 3 months have shown who the real rookie of the year should be. Del Rio shot up the charts after his feud with Rey Mysterio and he embarked on a quest to win the world title at Wrestlemania. With his Del Rio-isms (I love his facial expressions), his ring announcer and now his enforcer, Del Rio is one of the best heels in the business. I only hope that the WWE does not ruin the momentum that he has going on right now.
Streets' Tag-Team of the Year: Lay-Cool (Michelle McCool & Layla)
Rhodes/McIntyre, the Harts, various Nexus members, Santino/Kozlov… it’s been a sad year for tag-team wrestling. While the aforementioned teams have done nothing for the tag-team division, the team of Michelle McCool and Layla breathed new life into women’s wrestling easily carrying the division this year.
Slymm's Tag-Team of the Year: Lay-Cool (Michelle McCool & Layla)
The team of Layla El and Michelle McCool have single handedly made women's wrestling relevant for the past year. The men in the WWE should take notice and understand that this is how a tag-team functions. Basically a female Morrison and Miz, Lay-Cool have had some of the best segments on a number of shows. Sadly it looks like they will be broken up soon and then we will be left with whatever crap the WWE decides to give us.
Streets' Breakout Star of the Year: The Miz
While others like Cody Rhodes and John Morrison have a case for this award, no one has progressed more this year than the Miz. He started the year as a solid mid-carder and United States champion feuding with the likes of Daniel Bryan and the Harts. However, he has ended the year as the WWE Champion and the company’s top heel, feuding with The Rock and John Cena, and headlining WrestleMania. From mid-carder to MVP is quite the improvement.
Slymm's Breakout Star of the Year: Cody Rhodes
I was torn between The Miz and Cody but went with Cody because he came out of absolutely nowhere. I always felt that Miz had the potential to be a champion in the WWE. After Legacy broke up I really believed that Cody was bound to be future endeavored in no time. I'd dare everyone to name their top 6 guys on Smackdown and not have Cody in it. It is time to put the IC or US title on him and let him work.
Streets' Diva of the Year: Michelle McCool
While currently a bit stale, and playing the part of Vickie Guerrero’s lackey, Michelle (and her partner in crime Layla) has been THE Diva(s) in the WWE, easily carrying the division. Solid in the ring and more than solid on the mic, these two have been the best thing to hit women’s wrestling in a long time. Michelle gets the nod due to her better ring work, but both girls deserve kudos.
Slymm's Diva of the Year: Layla
Honestly Lay-Cool should probably share this award because they work so well as a team. I decided to go with Layla because McCool has been injured more often and Layla seemed to carry more of the physical load. I really hope that they do not break them up anytime soon.
Streets' Match of the Year: Sheamus vs. John Morrison (ladder match) at Tables, Ladders, and Chairs
These two put on a wrestling clinic mixing old-school brutality with new-school ingenuity and flair. Morrison’s fluid style mixed beautifully with Sheamus’ smashmouth approach as these two put on a wrestling classic using the gimmick match to enhance both guy’s natural talents. The ladder added to the match and did not take it over as both men shined in this classic encounter.
Slymm's Match of the Year: Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho NXT season 1
I remember sitting down and watching this match early in the 1st season of NXT and being surprised that they would put a former champ vs. Daniel Bryan. The internet was abuzz with the praises of the American Dragon and WWE figured why not see what he's got. Jericho and Bryan put on a 5-star classic that had fans hoping for more and showed that the 1st season of NXT was going to be something special.
Streets' Feud of the Year: John Cena vs. Wade Barrett (with Nexus)
For all the ways the Nexus were mishandled, you’d be hard pressed to find a feud this year that carried the WWE for longer. Easily the hottest angle of the summer, both Wade Barrett and John Cena had a rivalry that really mattered. Once Cena lost the belt to Sheamus, neither he nor Barrett had it during the feud and people still cared. This was a great rivalry that involved contracts, careers, titles, and the very fate of the company. It was an amazing angle that ended too soon.
Slymm's Feud of the Year: John Cena vs. The Rock
For all the hate that this feud received for "via satellite" and fruity pebbles jokes nothing will compare to the night that Dwayne Johnson returned to Monday Night Raw. Nothing will compare to the night in Chicago when the two came face to face. Even though they only "feuded" for a few short weeks those were two moments of pure excitement that those two people gave me. With next year's Wrestlemania already on tap I expect this feud to take this award again next year.
Streets' Manager of the Year: Alex Riley
Whether signed to a “personal services contract” or acting as “VP of corporate communications” Alex Riley is exactly what a heel manager should be… he takes beatings for his wrestler, hypes him up, and interferes on his behalf. While Riley has the silver tongue of a great manager it isn’t really needed considering who it is he manages. While it could be argued that someone like the Miz (who is his own mouthpiece) would benefit more from a silent bodyguard/enforcer-type, this pairing simply works, and it is in no small part because of Riley’s natural talent and charisma.
Slymm's Manager of the Year: N/A
I really cannot just "give" this award to Alex Riley or Del Rio's announcer. The WWE does not believe in managers anymore and that is a damn shame.
Streets' Announcer of the Year: Matt Striker
It is sad that by year’s end this man is no longer in the booth while guys like Booker T are still announcing. Matt Striker is a perfect blend of charisma and knowledge combining textbook wrestling savvy with wrestler’s backgrounds. No one has been better this year at telling the story in the ring as well as the context that surrounds every action. While there have been other characters that have been better (see: Cole, Michael), when it comes to pure announcing, Striker has been the best.
Slymm's Announcer of the Year: Michael Cole
Michael Cole stopped playing the straight man this year and became a Bobby Hennan-esque type of character. He has managed to actually become relevant and is one of the company's top heels. Who didn't enjoy seeing him get his *** kicked this past Sunday? He stands above the rest of the announcers and anchors two shows. Whether we like it or not he is the voice of the WWE.
Streets' “Future Endeavor” Award: Daniel Bryan
Bryan was easily the best wrestler to get “future endeavored” this year. Though he was let go on a technicality, Daniel Bryan still qualifies for the award. While very strong cases can be made for guys like MVP or Kaval, they just didn’t seem to connect with the audience despite both being very talented. Bryan is a cut above the others (even without looking at his current paycheck) and is arguably the best wrestler in the WWE. However, something needs to happen with his character soon or Bryan may be the only wrestler in history to win this award two years in a row… and next time it might not be so temporary.
Slymm's “Future Endeavor” Award: Shelton Benjamin
Yep he qualifies. He was released in April. I don't know why Shelton was ever able to do more. He was one of the most talented wrestlers on the rosters and had a great look. While his mic skills weren't on point just look at his classic match on Raw against Shawn Michaels. I loved his gold standard character and felt that he did some of his best work while on the late ECW. Wrestlemania just wasn't the same this year without Shelton jumping off a ladder.
Streets' MVP: The Miz
While a case can be made for John Cena (who has helped carry a majority of the WWE’s biggest angles this year), he has continued to stagnate, while The Miz has continued to evolve and entertain all along the way. This year the Miz has held the United States championship, Unified Tag Team championship, and won Money in the Bank. He got a manager, (essentially) his own personal announcer, captained “Team Raw” at Bragging Rights, became the company’s top heel, and carried a 61 year-old announcer in a feud for the WWE championship (and actually made it seem credible). All of this culminating in a high-profile feud with both the Rock and John Cena where the Miz held his own against some of the best in history. The cherry on top of this amazing year is that the Miz enters this new “wrestling year” as the longest reigning WWE champion since Triple H held the belt in 2007.
Slymm's MVP: The Miz
Anyone who has read this column that we have going should know by now that I am a huge fan of the Miz. I believe that he proved this year that he is the future of the business. Out of all of the "young guns" he has been the one to snatch up the top spot. He has been the WWE champion for a number of months now, carried the first two seasons of WWE NXT and has gone toe to toe with John Cena and The Rock. From a business standpoint he has it all. He is relatively young, has looks, has a built in fan base, and is willing to do an insane amount of promotion for the company. While some have said that he bit a little bit of Chris Jericho's previous gimmick, maybe another Chris Jericho is not a bad thing.
Streets' Rookie of the Year: Wade Barrett
The current Intercontinental champion has had an amazing year winning the first season of NXT, leading the two biggest factions in the WWE, headlining many pay-per-views, and coming within inches of the WWE championship. While there have been other great rookies this year like Del Rio and Bryan, none have done quite as much as Barrett this year when looking at sheer impact.
Slymm's Rookie of the Year: Alberto Del Rio
For a while it looked like this would be Barrett's award to claim but the last 3 months have shown who the real rookie of the year should be. Del Rio shot up the charts after his feud with Rey Mysterio and he embarked on a quest to win the world title at Wrestlemania. With his Del Rio-isms (I love his facial expressions), his ring announcer and now his enforcer, Del Rio is one of the best heels in the business. I only hope that the WWE does not ruin the momentum that he has going on right now.
Streets' Tag-Team of the Year: Lay-Cool (Michelle McCool & Layla)
Rhodes/McIntyre, the Harts, various Nexus members, Santino/Kozlov… it’s been a sad year for tag-team wrestling. While the aforementioned teams have done nothing for the tag-team division, the team of Michelle McCool and Layla breathed new life into women’s wrestling easily carrying the division this year.
Slymm's Tag-Team of the Year: Lay-Cool (Michelle McCool & Layla)
The team of Layla El and Michelle McCool have single handedly made women's wrestling relevant for the past year. The men in the WWE should take notice and understand that this is how a tag-team functions. Basically a female Morrison and Miz, Lay-Cool have had some of the best segments on a number of shows. Sadly it looks like they will be broken up soon and then we will be left with whatever crap the WWE decides to give us.
Streets' Breakout Star of the Year: The Miz
While others like Cody Rhodes and John Morrison have a case for this award, no one has progressed more this year than the Miz. He started the year as a solid mid-carder and United States champion feuding with the likes of Daniel Bryan and the Harts. However, he has ended the year as the WWE Champion and the company’s top heel, feuding with The Rock and John Cena, and headlining WrestleMania. From mid-carder to MVP is quite the improvement.
Slymm's Breakout Star of the Year: Cody Rhodes
I was torn between The Miz and Cody but went with Cody because he came out of absolutely nowhere. I always felt that Miz had the potential to be a champion in the WWE. After Legacy broke up I really believed that Cody was bound to be future endeavored in no time. I'd dare everyone to name their top 6 guys on Smackdown and not have Cody in it. It is time to put the IC or US title on him and let him work.
Streets' Diva of the Year: Michelle McCool
While currently a bit stale, and playing the part of Vickie Guerrero’s lackey, Michelle (and her partner in crime Layla) has been THE Diva(s) in the WWE, easily carrying the division. Solid in the ring and more than solid on the mic, these two have been the best thing to hit women’s wrestling in a long time. Michelle gets the nod due to her better ring work, but both girls deserve kudos.
Slymm's Diva of the Year: Layla
Honestly Lay-Cool should probably share this award because they work so well as a team. I decided to go with Layla because McCool has been injured more often and Layla seemed to carry more of the physical load. I really hope that they do not break them up anytime soon.
Streets' Match of the Year: Sheamus vs. John Morrison (ladder match) at Tables, Ladders, and Chairs
These two put on a wrestling clinic mixing old-school brutality with new-school ingenuity and flair. Morrison’s fluid style mixed beautifully with Sheamus’ smashmouth approach as these two put on a wrestling classic using the gimmick match to enhance both guy’s natural talents. The ladder added to the match and did not take it over as both men shined in this classic encounter.
Slymm's Match of the Year: Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho NXT season 1
I remember sitting down and watching this match early in the 1st season of NXT and being surprised that they would put a former champ vs. Daniel Bryan. The internet was abuzz with the praises of the American Dragon and WWE figured why not see what he's got. Jericho and Bryan put on a 5-star classic that had fans hoping for more and showed that the 1st season of NXT was going to be something special.
Streets' Feud of the Year: John Cena vs. Wade Barrett (with Nexus)
For all the ways the Nexus were mishandled, you’d be hard pressed to find a feud this year that carried the WWE for longer. Easily the hottest angle of the summer, both Wade Barrett and John Cena had a rivalry that really mattered. Once Cena lost the belt to Sheamus, neither he nor Barrett had it during the feud and people still cared. This was a great rivalry that involved contracts, careers, titles, and the very fate of the company. It was an amazing angle that ended too soon.
Slymm's Feud of the Year: John Cena vs. The Rock
For all the hate that this feud received for "via satellite" and fruity pebbles jokes nothing will compare to the night that Dwayne Johnson returned to Monday Night Raw. Nothing will compare to the night in Chicago when the two came face to face. Even though they only "feuded" for a few short weeks those were two moments of pure excitement that those two people gave me. With next year's Wrestlemania already on tap I expect this feud to take this award again next year.
Streets' Manager of the Year: Alex Riley
Whether signed to a “personal services contract” or acting as “VP of corporate communications” Alex Riley is exactly what a heel manager should be… he takes beatings for his wrestler, hypes him up, and interferes on his behalf. While Riley has the silver tongue of a great manager it isn’t really needed considering who it is he manages. While it could be argued that someone like the Miz (who is his own mouthpiece) would benefit more from a silent bodyguard/enforcer-type, this pairing simply works, and it is in no small part because of Riley’s natural talent and charisma.
Slymm's Manager of the Year: N/A
I really cannot just "give" this award to Alex Riley or Del Rio's announcer. The WWE does not believe in managers anymore and that is a damn shame.
Streets' Announcer of the Year: Matt Striker
It is sad that by year’s end this man is no longer in the booth while guys like Booker T are still announcing. Matt Striker is a perfect blend of charisma and knowledge combining textbook wrestling savvy with wrestler’s backgrounds. No one has been better this year at telling the story in the ring as well as the context that surrounds every action. While there have been other characters that have been better (see: Cole, Michael), when it comes to pure announcing, Striker has been the best.
Slymm's Announcer of the Year: Michael Cole
Michael Cole stopped playing the straight man this year and became a Bobby Hennan-esque type of character. He has managed to actually become relevant and is one of the company's top heels. Who didn't enjoy seeing him get his *** kicked this past Sunday? He stands above the rest of the announcers and anchors two shows. Whether we like it or not he is the voice of the WWE.
Streets' “Future Endeavor” Award: Daniel Bryan
Bryan was easily the best wrestler to get “future endeavored” this year. Though he was let go on a technicality, Daniel Bryan still qualifies for the award. While very strong cases can be made for guys like MVP or Kaval, they just didn’t seem to connect with the audience despite both being very talented. Bryan is a cut above the others (even without looking at his current paycheck) and is arguably the best wrestler in the WWE. However, something needs to happen with his character soon or Bryan may be the only wrestler in history to win this award two years in a row… and next time it might not be so temporary.
Slymm's “Future Endeavor” Award: Shelton Benjamin
Yep he qualifies. He was released in April. I don't know why Shelton was ever able to do more. He was one of the most talented wrestlers on the rosters and had a great look. While his mic skills weren't on point just look at his classic match on Raw against Shawn Michaels. I loved his gold standard character and felt that he did some of his best work while on the late ECW. Wrestlemania just wasn't the same this year without Shelton jumping off a ladder.