luchablog

The story of this year's awards was the lack of standout candidates. We had 13 voters this year (same amount as last), and only in two category did the award winner received a majority (7 ) of 1st place votes. In three categories, the winner got 3 first place votes. In most underrated, it was a three way tie, including someone who didn't earn a first place vote.

Some of this owed to the low amount of votes, and I was hoping the that total would be a little higher. I think this spread out voting would still be apparent with more voting - it wasn't a dominant year by any wrestler, promotion or even match, and individual tastes reigned.

As a result of this theme, the awards have started to shift award from the CMLL-centric winners of previous years. There's a lot more AAA votes, and I believe the first non-CMLL/AAA match to get multiple votes.

Thanks for voting, thanks to those who posted videos to give people more to vote on, and thanks for reading. I'll try not to wait so long next time, if only so I don't end up looking the awards and realizing I forget to vote for some things because they were so long ago.

The awards are after the link, as well as some ballot comments.

Past Awards: 2005 2004

Best Wrestler
2004: LA Park
2005: Perro Aguayo Jr.
2006: Mistico

Robert: It saddens me to rank Ultimo Guerrero so low but he's just fallen victim to the CMLL 2006 style. He used to stand out in matches and now he just fits in. The feud with Bucanero should have elevated him to an easy #1 but it disapointed so much that it just showed how much the style has changed and unfortunately Guerrero has no way to show he is the best wrestler in the world in this environment.

I gave the win to Mistico in terms of his overall performance combined with how important he is to the promotion. Same reason I gave Chessman the #2 slot. They are the guys that carry their individual promotions, all be it in different ways.

Averno took over the Ultimo Guerrero role of being the glue for a ton of tecnico in various matches. It's great to see the ex-Rencor Latino making good on the potential he showed in the late 90's. Same for Volador Jr. whois finally stepping up and could be at the top of this list in 2007. Freelance gets my final pick because he is almost single-handidly making IWRG shows exciting. Every time you read a report in a magazine, he gets special mention for stealing the show. 'Suicidita', as he is refered to, should be the guy that carries the promotion for years to come since at his size you'd doubt he'd get a break in the big two.

Chui: He had not much of TV time, but Hijo del Santo was pretty much way above average when seen on the small screen. Ultimo is more of a guy who more or less remained on his level as opposed to the rest of the pack. Perro and Universo took big drops when not being in the center Dinamitas/Aguayo storyline, Perrito became nearly unwatchable to me, and Universo simply disapeared, Mistico was not the same when not going against Ultimo Guerrero, even worse for Rey Bucanero... they all were taken out of their usual roles and suffered, Ultimo is also more or less out of his usual role serving more of a guy to save lousy tecnicos (Tarzan, Atlantis, Olimpico) from doom, still, Ultimo Guerrero remaine strong. LA Park would have been better than anyone but his "rudo turn" made him look unmotivated, and was a weak second half of the yera.

Best Match
2004: Averno vs Zumbido 09/03
2005: Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero 02/25
2006: Black Warrior vs Mistico 09/29

Henrik: yeah, it’s at time like this you realise how much it sucks that Averno/Volador never aired and Rey/Ultimo was butchered

Robert: When I made my list of candidates, I realized it wasn't as week of a year for good matches as I thought. There were actually a lot of good matches. The problem is of course... there were no great matches that will be remembered for a long time to come.

The main thing that stands out for me is that there were two MOTYC's from one show (8/4/06 @ Arena Mexico). Last time I remember that happening was March 2004.

The match I chose to win just had it all. Perfect wrestling, great comedy and interaction with the crowd. The guys didn't seem like they were rushing at all. It was executed perfectly and it felt like the guys were enjoying themselves while trying to put on a great match.

The match I picked to finish fourth is actually the type of match I'd use as a base for future CMLL matches. Every show should have a match like that and with the amount of talent on the CMLL roster, there is no excuse for any show not to.

Billy Boy/Gran Apache could have been higher but is ruined by the crappy ending.

Chui: Billy Boy vs Apache hair match is still a pivotal part of AAA programming, so it is not hard to place it as the MOTY for me. I liked that Chicago match b/c it's like the quintessential house show match, enough said.

Best Tecnico
2004: LA Park
2005: Mistico
2006: Mistico

Robert: Anyone who doesn't vote for either Mistico or Parka Jr. is absolutely kidding themselves. They are both exactly what all tecnicos should be. Same goes for Mascarita who is spectacular but also knows exactly when to play the role of underdog and time his comebacks perfectly.

A close fourth for me was Perro Aguayo Jr.

Chui: I don't care about tecnicos. :)

Best Rudo
2004: Hector Garza
2005: Perro Aguayo Jr.
2006: Ultimo Gierrero

Robert: Warrior actually would have finished higher for me if not for when he unmasked he began to act like a tecnico at times including getting fans to dress like him. Rudos should NOT encourage any sort of support from the crowd. Banderas is perfect at that although he really has 0% face charisma so he has an advantage. Hooligan made TV a lot this year and showcased exactly how to be a great rudo by just beating the crap out of the tecnicos and not trying to one-up them with cool moves. Garza, Perrito, Corleone, etc. are not rudos... they are tweeners.

Chui: It was almost impossible to pick tecnico/rudo now that the lines are blurred, even Mistico had many rudoish displays, and Chessman became a babyface by choice during the last 4 or 5 months of the year.

Best Female
2005: Marcela
2006: Dark Angel

Robert: Without Dark Angel there isn't a womens division to be talking about so she is automatically the winner. After initially hating her guts, I've grown to like her a lot and am always angry when there are womens matches that don't include her.

AAA really doesn't have a women's division... more like some women who get to wrestle with the men since they are involved in angles. Fabi plays that role perfectly and Tiffany is the glue as there are no other rudas worth anything.

Best Unit
2006: Los Guerreros del Atlantida

(note: One vote for Dark Family was added into La Secta's total.)

Robert: For consistency, nobody beats Averno and Mephisto. Fuerza Aerea might have had a better chance if they had not disapeared for the last 1/4th of the year. Seeing them on TV always brightens my day. I can finally vote for Caligula and Messala not only based on Momentos clips!!! Hopefully it'll be the same next year with Artillero and Super Comando.

Best Promotion/Territory

Robert: I could write pages and pages but I'm sure everyone is sick of me complaining about CMLL already. I know Cubs is.:) So I'll just sum it up quickly...

AAA is my favorite promotion in the world. 2006 has been their greatest year since 1995 and it's a crime that they've been so overlooked due to everyone being trained to think AAA sucks and watching AAA will make you gay. 2007 has started off with a bang as well and AAA shows no signs of slowing down.

IWRG and AULL are really the only two promotions left to vote for since I can't pick CMLL. Both present different products than the big two companies and are great to have around for a nice change of pace. AULL was on pace to finish #1 but their disappearence from television didn't help.

CMLL or CMLhell as I like to say is a terribly overrated promotion. I can understand voting for them if you get to see the shows live on a weekly basis but I know for a fact nobody voting in these awards does. So if you are voting for CMLhell based on their television, it is in my opinion that you are insane. The TV showcases the same guys doing the same matches in the same format. I'd be more forgiving if they were a fed with little talent and just wanted to focus on the great guys they do have but this is a promotion rich in talent so for the product they put out, they oughta be ashamed of themselves.

Best Rivalary
2004: El Hijo del Santo vs Perro Aguayo Jr.
2005: Mistico vs Ultimo Guerrero
2006: Mistico vs Black Warrior

(note: Hell Brothers vs La Secta includes Cibernetico/Muerte, HB/Dark Family, etc.)

Robert: This was the easiest category of all. It's a crime Rey Bucanero vs Ultimo Guerrero wasn't even in contention though. Billy Boy/Apache had everything you could imagine and they may even be eligbile to win next year with the way things are going! The Fuerza Aerea/Secta Cibernetica series was 4 months of great matches and you can't ask for much more than that. Mistico/Warrior lasted the longest and produced some really fun moments and good matches as well.

Chui: All of those feuds produced big gates, well, at leas the Cibernetico deal, the others were worthy for producing more or less good matches out of lousy guys (Zorro, Electro and Billy)

Most Improved
2004: Olimpico
2005: Maximo
2006: Black Warrior, Marco Corelone, Mistico (tie)

Robert: As Panterita, he was an exciting undercard flyer. As Freelance, he is one of the most over guys in the promotion while still being an exciting flyer who has shown he can also wrestle and carry green rudos which is exactly what he needs to do in Arena Naucalpan.

Manson was really on the path to nowhere until his feud with Zorro this year and ever since then he's been one of the top rudos in AAA. He used to be interchangable with any of the other Secta guys but now he has gotten better to the point that his absence in main events is quite noticeable.

I'm happy to see Sagrado already main eventing CMLL shows this year. He put a lot of work into improving and aside from the occasional mailed in Arena Coliseo matches, he always brings his 'A' game and with no pressure to be the top star in the company, he's proving to be a valuable asset. I still think his future is without a mask as Genetico but time will tell.

Most Underutilized

Robert: There are really about 10,000 other guys you can choose from... 9,900 of whom happen to be on the current CMLL roster. I went with Hooligan as my #1 because there really is no other choice. He has everything you need to be a top rudo in the promotion but for some reason they refuse to give him a shot. Perhaps it is his own choice and he is happy to be doing what he does. Either way... the promotion would benefit greatly by giving him a shot to join up with Sangre Azteca in leading a Guerreros 'B' team to feud with the Perros Del Mal 'B' team.

As shocking as it sounds, Valiente is actually getting a chance to shine if recent cards are any indication. I would have pegged him as an undercarder for life but thanks to a breakout performance in the Reyes Del Aire match, he might have earned himself at least a CHANCE to move up on the cards this year. Of course I had been praising him for a long time now so this push is coming a bit late in my estimation. He'd have been a great candidate for the Gran Alternativa in 2006. Still... as long as he's getting a chance, I'm happy.

Tzuki is THE guy CMLL should be building their mini's division around. They don't need to be opening match wrestlers who get no attention at all. The mini's division can mean something and be important enough to where they are used higher on Tuesday cards to get kids into the arena. The start would be building around Tzuki who is 10x better than Mascarita 2000 with the difference being one guy means something and the other guy is hidden away for weeks at times. Tzuki needs to be the centerpiece of the mini's division... perhaps by having a feud with Pierrothito that culminates in a mask match. Either way... this guy is something special and CMLL should take advantage of it.

Honorable mention to Turbo who I can't really say is underutilized since he works indy shows where his role is always to be a second or third match guy. He's definitely underappreciated though since he should have a regular AAA or CMLL gig but doesn't.