Dylan Waco

Sorry. Loss mentioned in the other thread that he wanted to expand on his point that the HoF is effectively full at this point and everyone that could come up on the docket is basically just a way of keeping the thing alive rather than getting deserving people in. At least I think that was his point. Hence the concept has outlived itself

Meltzer is running polls on whether or not various guys should be on the HoF ballot in the future. Results are in the WON thread in the megathread forum

So as outlined elsewhere Dave has been running polls on the website with list of potential HoF candidates. John also has a thread at Classics for discussing the same issue (new, different candidates missing from the ballot). In this thread I'll look at the candidates in the polls, one poll at a time. If I think the person should be on the ballot I'll bold them. If there is a greater than fifty percent chance that I would vote for them I'll put them in italics. If I feel like I don't know enough either way I'll note it and move on. Ultimate Warrior On the one hand Warrior is a better candidate than Angle in my view. While he didn't work out as champion, he didn't bomb to the degree some others did and he was at least something of a draw for a couple of years. The Skydome Mania match was hardly the first "super" match in WWE history, but it was a major face v. face match on the biggest ppv of the year in front of one of the two or three biggest crowds in the history of the promotion at that point. He is still one of the most recognizable names of that era, moved a lot of merch, when he came back to WCW popped a major rating (before shitting the bed), et. There are at least some measurable plusses. Having said that his peak run was really short and I don't think anyone would lobby hard for him for the HoF. Seems crazy to put a guy on the ballot unless their being on the ballot will increase research/discussion on the person that might uncover new things or there is an actual constituency for that person to be elected in the immediate. Warrior fails on both fronts. Kerry Von Erich I'm not positive I would vote for Kerry, but I absolutely could be convinced to do so so I put him in italics. If we had RnR HoF rules The Von Erichs sure seem like a unit that should go on, but then you do have the problem of trying to isolate what unit. As an individual Kerry was a part of that huge Texas boom and headlined lots of major shows as a result. I tend to think the Freebirds are what set the territory ablaze but the Birds minus the Von Erichs would not have worked. Kerry getting his head slammed in the door is what kick started things. Kerry winning the title from Flair is one of THE matches people think of from that time period. For at least four years Kerry was a MAJOR draw in wrestling no matter how you slice it. Excluding the occasional drugged out performance and time off for injury Kerry was also a very good worker for the entirety of the 80's. He's not a home run candidate and there are plenty of negatives (short peak, never drew again after the collapse of World Class, was a drugged out mess toward the end, et.). But I think of someone like Chris Jericho as a sort of middling candidate that I'm not hugely opposed to but I'm not sure really should be in. I think Kerry is lateral to Chris and would lean toward saying he was a better candidate if forced to choose. Rick Martel Should be on the ballot because it will encourage people to think more about that period of the AWA and also encourage people to look more into Montreal (well I'm speaking ideally here but you get the point). I wouldn't vote for Rick based on what I know but his in ring work has been underrated over the years. Looking back on the footage it's clear he was a much better worker than you would think based on how much he is talked about now (not much). Probably a top three AWA worker for the 80's, and while his championship run did not draw outside of Canada, it did not bomb nearly as bad as people seem to think. Was a red hot opponent for Buddy Rose in 1980 in Portland and I suspect if we had more research done on Montreal we would find that Martel was in fact a draw there. The WWF stuff is mostly irrelevant. Killer Karl Kox Still haven't read the bio Meltz did so I'm not going to comment. BlackjackMulligan I don't know enough to comment but the Blackjacks SEEM like an important team and Mulligan is still regarded as a huge deal where I live so I wouldn't be seriously opposed to him on the ballot. Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie I don't know a lot about Gouldie BUT there is no way he shouldn't be on the ballot because in my view if you are widely regarded as the top star in the history of a territory you should at least get a shot at the ballot. I have seen numerous people suggest that Gouldie was the most important single figure in the history of Stampede. My understanding is that he was a fairly big star later in TN as well though that's not where his strength as a candidate would be. Baron Von Rachke What's the argument for the Baron? From what I can tell he was never the top guy or even in the top four or five guys in any territory he was in. Am I wrong? Bill Eadie Would need someone to convince me that he belongs. He's someone I want to know more about as I know he was a star in Georgia, WWF, et but I don't know the scope of it. Demolition Axe is actually a pretty good "post-prime" relative to a lot of other guys for whatever that is worth. Tiger Jeet Singh How big of a draw was Singh? I know he did some big figures over the years but was it long standing and consistent? Chavo Guerrero Sr. Was a huge star in LA based on everything I know and I've heard that he was a big star in Texas too. Great worker during his prime. I'm being a little generous with my "bold" here, but if it could get people to dig into LA figures I'd back it. Dick Slater What's the argument? I honestly don't even see him as a "hall of very good" candidate. Johnny Powers I have no clue how well the Pedro Martinez fed drew and the only source I've heard talk about it is Powers so I am skeptical. He claims to have been a big draw in Canada and the States.

Yeah I'm gonna run down these candidates poll by poll over the course of the next week. Should I keep it in this thread or start a separate one?

That's not surprising. Honestly I may go through each of these candidates with my own thoughts on each this week if I have some spare time as there are guys on these list that I legit think belong on the ballot and others that I think merit a look in comparison to guys who are heavily touted by Dave and co. now. Also I wonder if I should send a file with my Patera stuff to Dave or not. I actually think he might be the best of the American guys not on the ballot after looking over everything (though I could be convinced that JYD and Tommy Rich are better and I'm excluding Jimmy Hart who in my view falls under the category of "whoops!" omisssion) but he's also a candidate that stands no chance if he doesn't have the inside track with Dave or someone else with a bully pulpit. I don't regret the Blackwell research and still think he's an interesting candidate, but Patera is really the stronger pick for a variety of reasons.

Has Dave run more of these polls? Someone said he has and I would be curious to see the other results

I think Hennig from 83-88 was great.

Ole sucks. Seriously I fucking hate Ole Anderson. Eats his opponent alive every time no matter what. As bad as Brody, but at least Brody had the look and a cool entrance. Condrey laps Ole twelve times.

Well that is definitely true. Arn is one of the best promos of all time

I think Arn and Bobby are a VERY close comparison. Normally you would reflexively say that Eaton is the better tag worker or the better offensive worker, but Arn is a pretty great tag worker and actually a MUCH better offensive wrestler than people remember. He is NOT as dynamic as Eaton, but he also doesn't have a period like Blue Bloods era Eaton where it seems like there should have been plenty of good stuff and there just isn't. Both are excellent brawlers. Eaton is a crazier bumper, but Arn is a good bumper and his stooging/selling/facials are superior to Arn's. Eaton was probably in more great matches because of the Midnights, but Arn has more singles performances that stand out.

Ah hell, don't make me put together a big data dump for Dave on the High Flyers.

Finlay is an interesting one. I have Will's Finlay Set but I haven't watched the whole thing yet. I have a feeling he is going to be a guy where the peak is difficult to pinpoint. May be a case of a guy with "two peaks." I thought about mentioning Foley earlier, but the thing is I tend to think the "early" period a lot of people would point to for Foley WAS his peak. The 89-92 period has lots of good stuff, but nothing that is really other worldly. To me he really picks up in 93. His peak was probably 94-96. I get the feeling a lot of people would rate his peak as 96-98 but I'm not convinced of it. Dustin is touch because he started off pretty damn good with very limited opportunities and as soon as he got any real chances in 91 he was awesome. So the question is how do you measure his really strong performances in limited roles (v. Dibiase ten minute challenge for example)? Arn was incredible in 92 and I believe that was his "peak year." On the other hand I don't know that I would isolate that one year. In some ways I think Arn is the most consistent wrestler of all time and I think you could make a case his career from 85-95 was effectively one steady line with a minor dip here or there depending on booking/location (Busters in WWF for example).

Also Michaels had much better looking punches and offense back then and sold far better.

He definitely would treat some jobbers unprofessionally (who didn't back then really?) but watching a lot of Michaels from that era in the last couple of years I really think the big difference is that EVEN IF he was as big a douche then as he would later become you never really got the sense that it effected his matches. I have seen one match where he appears to get pissed at a jobber and Steiners him which is shitty. But nothing like the spot in MindGames (it was a work! yeah right), or the bit with Vader, or him acting out and being a crybaby during the match with Sid, et. There was nothing senseless that dragged his performances down.

This won't be a popular answer with hardly anyone, but the answer may be.... Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty. I guess some people would rate Jannetty's peak as his run with the Rockers, but I actually think he showed the most in 95 when he was sort of freelancing around having impressive lengthy matches v. guys like Snow and Douglas. Michaels is tougher because I actually think his peak probably was 86-88 with the Rockers, but hardly anyone else would agree with me. I still am a fan of a lot of Michaels 90's work and I would guess his peak would be defined as 94-97 or perhaps WM X - Hell In A Cell. To me his "pre-peak" featured a lot of really great matches and performances from Michaels who at the time was a far more professional performer as well.

Reading all this really makes me want to watch the shit out of some FMW

I think Big Show is better than Kane in every way. I have softened a bit on Kane in terms of the big picture, but he's still one of my least favorite guys on the roster. Matt is right about Mayweather, but it goes beyond that. I can't imagine Kane having the kind of quality match Show had with Bryan this week for example. Even if you like Kane I think it's hard to argue that he's not one dimensional. Show is actually far less one dimensional than you would expect a guy his size to be

Obviously I got lazy to the point where it isn't really salvageable to do my plan of a review every couple of days. I will still be tossing some reviews in here though and think this could be a good reference thread when the voting hits next year so I'm going to do some data dumps from his WWF run where at least we have same figures. I also wanted to drop this comment from Meltzer I found in an infamous Ole Anderson HoF thread from Classics: Buddy Rose is someone that nobody would call a Hall of Famer. Buddy was the No. 1 guy in his territory for something like 8 years, headlined in WWF, and was one hell of a talented worker. He drew very well, and consistently topped $50,000 per year in earnings in the Oregon territory. It was an easy traveling territory and he never had to leave. In the state of Oregon, I'll bet everyone who grew up during the late 70s, even those who aren't fans, would recognize his name. He helped book and had a great wrestling mind. He was the No. 1 man in his territory for years. Ole was never the No. 1 man in his territory, or if he was, it was very briefly. Rose went to New York and main evented. He went to San Francisco and main evented, and was a consistent 8,000 per show draw at the Cow Palace until the whole place fell apart. Are Rose's credentials strong enough to be in the Hall of Fame ahead of Dick Murdoch, Bill Miller, Wilbur Snyder, Undertaker, Bob Backlund and Masahiro Chono? I'll comment more on it later but figured it deserves to be filed here for the time being

What has Tanashi done of note this year? I mean I think he is dogshit as a worker, but I would be willing to review my general thoughts on the matter if he was a massive, successful draw and I somehow missed it (which admittedly is possible). With Henry I think you have a rare case of a guy who: Was a top five worker (I know you disagree rovert, but I do think it's worth noting that even many of his long standing critics found him to be "good" this year if nothing else). Was a top five draw Was a top five character Was a top five promo You could perhaps make the same argument for Punk (though the bad aspects of his post-HHH return character were REALLLY awful) HOWEVER... Perhaps most importantly to me, he made the most out of his push, which is a huge deal to me in a year where a lot of things I had high hopes for fell far short (Christian finally getting the title, "Summer of Punk," Lawler v. Cole at Mania, et.). Anyway, I concede that their may be a Japanese candidate I'm airballing on (Nakamura had a hell of an in ring year in my view ftr) and it may be Tanahashi. Averno may be a better candidate than I assume on the surface in Mexico. But in a year with no obvious candidate, Henry seems like he is at minimum an extremely strong contender.

What do you dislike about him in the ring? I am sort of strange on Henry. I think he was great in 06 and 08. In 07, 09, 10 I thought he was varying degrees of good. Often times this gets inflated into "Dylan is the biggest cheerleader for Henry around!" I'm a huge fan, especially of this run, but I don't think I'm near the fan some other people are if you look at the entire scope of his career. In the ring this year I thought he was pretty great. I like the Orton, Show, Sheamus and Danielson series an awful lot and also enjoyed what he did with Morrison, Christian, and Rey early in the year. It's not a "one size fits all style" in the sense that I can see why certain sorts of fans would not be a fan of it. But Henry is the guy I most looked forward to seeing wrestle each week starting with his heel turn forward. I literally planned an entire trip to see my family around a house show Henry was going to appear on - something I can't conceive of doing for any other wrestler on Earth at this point. I am a big fan of the way Henry utilizes psych and timing in his matches, a big fan of the way he integrates near falls, thinks he carries himself in the ring better than anyone in wrestling at this point, think he is an extremely underrated bumper, and think he sells as well as any monster I've ever seen. Henry will finish in my top ten when WKO ballots go in in a couple of months. In fact if I were casting my ballot right now he would be in my top five. For the record I don't think ANYONE is an obvious Wrestler of The Year this year. I wouldn't fault anyone for choosing Punk or Cena though I think when you look at their time as "ace" relative to Henry's time as "ace" it is evident that Henry held more value to his respective brand. To me Henry's biggest weakness is that for the first four months he was totally irrelevant, but on scale I would take irrelevant and inoffensive to disappointing which is how I felt about Cena's overall direction for most of the year (though he had a great year in the ring) and Punk's direction for the last three or four months of the year.

I honestly thought IWRG was really sparse this year. Not saying they didn't have good matches - they clearly did. But I thought CMLL had more good stuff that made tape. I picked the promotion of the year category a little differently this year in large part because there was no logical favorite for me like last years IWRG. I have just started catching up on FCW and FCW TV probably should have made my ballot.

I was really torn on interviews. It was actually one of the toughest categories for me. With Punk v. Henry it really comes down to peak v. longevity. Punk had some terrible stuff on the front end with the New Nexus and on the back end with "Punk as poor man's Cena." But his best stuff was really good stuff. The kind of stuff you will talk about in ten years. Henry was great - for the four or five months he got to talk. I actually had a debate with my brother tonight about whether or not his "on the way to the ring"/"mid-match" shit talking should count in this category. If you are counting that I'd have him above Punk.

I thought Christian was boring as piss and thought this year was hands down the worst year in the ring since he's come back to the WWE

This led to some fun discussion last year so here are my picks for this year CATEGORY "A" AWARDS (PICK YOUR TOP 3) 1. LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD: 1. Mark Henry 2. CM Punk 3. Jerry Lawler I could be convinced that someone from Mexico deserves to make the list (Averno?), but despite following the scene fairly closely, I'm pretty ignorant of who was or wasn't a big drawing card. I can see an argument for Punk first and wouldn't argue against it. My argument for Henry is that he seemed to have a more positive effect on business when he was given the ball than Punk did. A lot of that has to do with booking of course, but I'm not sure you can really adjust an awards standards for something like that. Lawler will be a controversial pick I guess, but when you consider how important the Miz/Lawler and Miz/Cole stuff was to the road to Mania, factor in the fact that last Dec. counts in these awards and that's when the sweet TLC match happened on RAW, consider the fact that Lawler was the guy the company went to to get over the walkout storyline, and look at the fact that he drew some really big crowds on the indies...well in a weak year I think he at least deserves a very serious look. I could see an argument for Cena, but this was the first time since he's been the ace where it felt like him having the top spot without question was the WRONG move. The long term stuff with him and Rock actually seems like it has hurt him even though they will do massive business at Mania. I also think you could make a long shot argument for Rey based on the fact that the shows really seemed to suffer in his absence given the fact that he plays four very important and distinct roles in the company. 3. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: 1. Blue Panther 2. CM Punk 3. Virus I have flipped and flopped between these three all year and could see arguments for Ishikawa, Mark Henry, Negro Navarro and Trauma I as well. Panther to me seems like the most consistent guy. He combines volume of good matches against a variety of people with raw skill as good or better than the other two. Punk probably has more "epic" performances, but has more visible flaws and the booking at the end of the year turning him into a Cena clone in the ring hurt him some. Virus' best performances were probably my single favorite performances of the year, but he only had a couple (v. Stuka Jr, v. Guerrero Maya Jr.) and while the Demus match was good it was kind of disappointing also. Anyhow the point is I could flip on any of those three at any given time. 5. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW: 1. The Rock 2. John Cena 3. Mark Henry Even with the SS buyrate I think it is hard to argue against the guy who popped house show figures just by having his name show up on tv and then turned around and had a first day ticket sale record for Mania later in the year. Cena sort of has to be two by virtue of piggybacking on Rock for the biggest couple of gates of the year. Henry improved ratings and attendance once he became SD champ. 6. FEUD OF THE YEAR: 1. CM Punk v. John Cena 2. Blue Panther v. Negro Casas 3. Miz v. Jerry Lawler Cena v. Punk had the best moments of the year and truly classic matches. Casas v. Panther had one great brawl early and then a series of nasty fist fight exchanges for a couple of months that were among may favorite sequences in wrestling all year. Miz v. Lawler had some really fun promos and one really great singles match. Over all it was a fairly weak year. 7. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR: 1. Los Traumas 2. Black Terry/Negro Navarro 3. Air Boom Traumas at their best are about as awesome a tag team as you are going to get at this point in wrestling history. Two total badasses that can brawl like crazy, hit great highspots, work the mat like beasts, sell a beating, et. Terry and Navarro had about a half dozen really awesome matches teaming together that really made you wish they were a full time tag team. Air Boom was awesome when I saw them live and had plenty of solid performances in a short run. 8. MOST IMPROVED: 1. Alberto Del Rio 2. David Otunga 3. Bully Ray I'm sure a lot will disagree on Otunga, but he went from being the shittiest guy on the roster to being a pretty amusing character, who would bump his ass off in the ring and actually looked great live when I saw him. Bully Ray was the most interesting thing about an awful company, but was also pretty damn good which is saying something in TNA. Del Rio improved a lot in the ring from a guy who often seemed to make matches worse to a guy that really could add to a match with his lunatic bumps and offense. 9. BEST ON INTERVIEWS: 1. CM Punk 2. Mark Henry 3. Jerry Lawler People loved the Rock's promos - I mostly thought they were pretty boring, though his charisma shines through. Still I left him off the list. Punk had the single best promos of the year, but also had some really cringe worthy ones. If there were any other consistent homeruns he would have been lower. Henry was great when he was given chances to talk and projected his character perfectly. Lawler had the great promo setting up the walk out, and lots of good stuff early in the year as well. Some of his indy promos were solid too. 10. MOST CHARISMATIC: 1. The Rock 2. Santino Marella 3. Dolph Ziggler I'll get shit from this one I'm sure, but I think Punk being Punk was really charismatic. Punk as a poor man's Cena? Not so much at all, so he drops out of my top three though I could see how people would disagree. Rock has to be the runaway winner. Santino seems like a crazy choice, but he consistently is one of the two or three most over guys on the roster and gets huge responses from EVERY casual fan I know. He definitely feels more magnetic than almost anyone else on the roster despite how he is booked. Ziggler I give extra points to after seeing just how douchey he came across live. He started the year piggybacking on Vicki's heat and ended the year a heat magnet on his own. Could have easily slipped Henry in here, but I think he has a weaker case then those three guys. 11. BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER: 1. Negro Navarro 2. Blue Panther 3. Virus For the purposes of my sanity I'm assuming this means "mat worker." So there you have it. I think any of those guys could be flipped around, though Navarro seems to have the most depth on the mat so I went with him first. Solar could have easily appeared here. 12. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD: 1. Luke Gallows 2. Jerry Lawler 3. Necro Butcher I almost feel bad leaving Casas and Panther off of this but it would have been hard to pick between them. Gallows had some great wild brawls this year and actually had a real "Brody" feel in terms of being this big, touring, reckless big man - except unlike Brody he was actually good in the ring too. The Jake Davis matches are some of my favorite matches all year. Lawler still has the best punches in the business and during the time period had really good out of control brawls with Miz, Funk and Dreamer (plus we have glimpses of another really good one v. Doug Gilbert). Necro is a default top three in this category as he always has a couple of matches that make you cringe due to their brutality. 13. BEST FLYING WRESTLER: 1. Masacarita Dorada 2. Dragon Lee 3. Evan Bourne Kind of a weak category this year. Dorada I only saw a few times this year but remains the most incredible highspot wrestler...ever? Dragon Lee is extremely hit or miss, but when he hits he is a true "holy shit!" highspot wrestler and has had some really good performances. Bourne has the most over single highspot in wrestling and it ALWAYS looks great. 14. MOST OVERRATED: 1. Christian 2. Randy Orton 3. Kane I take this to mean a combination of "overpushed" and "overrated" by smart fans. Kane will appear on my list as long as he continues being employed. Orton and Christian are both tough because they have plusses - hell this is one of Orton's best years ever in terms of output in the ring. Still Randy has proven that he is not "the man" and never will be at the box office and yet he is still pushed largely as one of about three or four legit top tier stars in the WWE. Christian became a pretty boring, formulaic heel to me this year and also fell on his face when he was up top. 15. MOST UNDERRATED: 1. Drew McIntrye 2. Chris Masters 3. Shaun Tempers Drew Mac is no worse than one of the 25 best wrestlers on Earth and he's treated like an after thought in the WWE at best. Masters got released after having a tremendous in ring year that was carrying over into 2011. Tempers is the best indy guy you've ever seen or heard of. 16. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR: 1. Chikara 2. CMLL 3. WWE If you judge a promotion purely on how much money it makes it's obviously always going to be the WWE. But this was a year where the WWE seemed to be in panic mode more than ever. CMLL had a really strong year in the ring, but as far as I know business has not been very strong. I don't even watch much Chikara and what I do watch I don't like very much. But this was a year where they really solidified themselves as the ultimate niche promotion. There marketing is by far the best of the "super indies," with only PWG being close and they exist in a market with far less serious competition. King of Trios is now the most identifiable "name brand" indy event every year. There first ippv appears to have done far better than expected. They have the most devout fans and that base appears to be expanding. They understand the internet age better than other promotions and despite having fly ins and special events that would seem to cost a shitload of money, they always appear to make it back. In a year where the big dogs feel weak, Chikara felt like it was growing and emerging from a pack. 17. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW: 1. SAW 2. Smackdown 3. Superstars I've only seen about 4 months worth of SAW tv but it is truly episodic, has had some really fun angles, has had some really good matches and is never boring. SD gave us Mark Henry as World Champion. Superstars still gives you one good match a show at minimum. 18. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR: 1. CM Punk v. John Cena - Money In The Bank 2. Yuki Ishikawa v. Daisuke Ikeda - BattleArts 5/11 3. Virus v. Guerrero Mayo Jr. - CMLL 6/7 Covered a lot of this on the last Wrestling Culture Podcast. Punk v. Cena combined the best elements of in ring work with modern day spectacle and feels like it had to be number one as a result. Ikeda v. Ishikawa was a nasty war with both guys being awesome. Virus v. Guerrero Maya Jr. was a hell of a match that built and built to a great climax. Lots of matches I would have as honorable mentions. 20. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 1. Dr. McCarver 2. Dragon Lee 3. ? McCarver was fucking awesome in the Dr.'s tag with Dundee v. Lawler and friend. Dragon Lee was hit or miss, but as said before when he was on he was great. No clue who else would even qualify or be good enough to consider. 21. BEST NON-WRESTLER PERFORMER: 1. Dr. McCarver 2. Ricardo Rodriguez 3. Vicki Guerrero Yeah McCarver only showed up that once but he was the best combination of Jimmy Hart and Andy Kauffman ever. I still think Vicki is more of a heat magnet than Ricardo, but Ricardo's bumps were great when he had to take them. 22. BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: 1. Jim Ross 2. William Regal 3. Whoever the SAW guy is Say what you want about JR but at least the matches seem like big deals when he is calling them. Also "by god they've got bolt cutters!" Regal is fun in the booth. SAW guy is a decent delivery man for a good show. 23. WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER: 1. Mike Tenay 2. Tazz 3. Michael Cole I actually like Cole and find him entertaining more often than not (yes I know I'm in the minority) but I also think he hurts the product. Still Tazz and Tenay make TNA unwatchable. 24. BEST MAJOR SHOW: 1. Money In The Bank 2. Elimination Chamber 3. Summerslam MITB might be the best WWE ppv of all time. Off hand I can't think of anything better. Elimination Chamber was a great show, with three legitimately awesome matches. Summerslam was a strong top to bottom show, with a great main event. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "CATEGORY B" AWARDS. ONLY PICK ONE 1. WORST MAJOR SHOW OF THE YEAR: TNA Turning Point maybe? 2. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER: Trauma I's super fast leg lock thing 3. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC: Anyone continuing to pay degenerate criminal Ric Flair 4. WORST TELEVISION SHOW: Ring of Honor 5. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR: Kyle O'reilly v. Davey Richards from ROH TV 6. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR: Davey Richards v. Eddie Edwards 7. WORST PROMOTION: TNA 8. BEST BOOKER: Mike Quackenbush (assuming he books Chikara) 9. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR: Mike Quackenbush (for the record I don't even LIKE Quack) 10. BEST GIMMICK: Mark Henry as underachieving, dangerous big man who snaps and finally realizes potential. 11. WORST GIMMICK: The happy, go lucky Viper Randy Orton 12. BEST WRESTLING BOOK: I still need to get the Hansen book. The Jerry Jarrett book was really flawed and in parts disappointing but the good aspects of it were really good. So that is my pick here I guess. 13. BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD: Memphis Heat

Buddy had good offense. He did not have huge depth to his offense. Those two things are not (necessarily) the same.