Joe Gagne's End of the (RSPW) Year Awards
Posted: 11/29/01
2001 will forever be known as the year everything changed, the year the Big Three officially became the Big One, the year that Vince McMahon was the last man standing.
ECW finally called it quits this year. Mounting debts, poor booking, cancellation at the hands of TNN, and a failure to expand beyond their cult audience all helped to seal their fate. I will say that I have a metric ton of great memories from ECW, and Paul Heyman deserves a world of credit for making it as far as he did, but I don't miss what they had become in the final days. Some of the old ECW crew found a home in the WWF just like their boss, who joined the writing staff and soon replaced Jerry "The King" Lawler on color commentary for RAW.
WCW, who only a few years ago was on top of the wrestling world, now found itself in incredibly dire straits. Due to years of a generally bad product, ratings and buy rates had plummeted, attendance was embarrassingly small, and the fed was millions of dollars in the hole. Word passed that due to the Time-Warner/AOL merger, they would be sold to Fusient Industries and headed up by Eric Bischoff. Some thought a change of ownership would be good for the company, others groaned, since Bischoff had helped tank the company in the first place.
And then the unthinkable happened.
While everyone assumed the Fusient sale was a done deal (Eric Bischoff even phoning in to Nitro to discuss the company's future), we suddenly learned that the deal fell through, and WCW had a new buyer: Vince McMahon. Vince McMahon, whose own company seemed near ruin a few years back, had now bought out his biggest rival. And if that wasn't weird enough, the final edition of Nitro was simulcast with Raw, as we learned that Shane McMahon had stolen WCW out from under Vince's nose (it was enough to make you check that you weren't on Bizarro world). Now we had a perfect setup for an Invasion angle, surely the biggest angle of all time, right?
That's a rough outline of 2001. Let's get a little more into specifics:
Wrestler of the Year:
When Steve Austin returned from a nearly yearlong hiatus (not counting his appearance at Backlash '00), I had my doubts. I was worried he'd be a shell of his former self, that his accumulated injuries would ruin his ring work, that it would be embarrassing to watch him after a while.
Hoo boy, was I was off.
Stone Cold was the WWF this year. With Triple H and Chris Benoit out for extended periods with injuries and the Rock taking time off to shoot a movie, Steve Austin picked up the WWF and carried it on his back. Any doubts I had about the quality of his ring work were erased on January 8th, when he had that amazing match with Kurt Angle on Raw. From then on, Austin had an astonishing run of matches, both on PPV and free TV: great bouts against Triple H, the Rock, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and more. In fact, Austin was in all three of my WWF Matches of the Year. He also got my nod for Best Worker, Best Heel, Best Gimmick, Best Feud (vs. the Rock), and Best Interviewee.
I mean, think about it, Austin dumped one of the most popular characters of all time and created a fresh new heel character, the paranoid WWF Champion. I mean, how great was Austin on the mic all year? Singing songs, plying for Vince's attention, hugging everyone, making a catchphrase out of "What?" Anyone who dominates inside and outside the ring like Austin did gets Wrestler if the Year in a heartbeat.
Second place goes to Kurt Angle, for pretty much the same reasons as Austin. He had another great run of matches, but pulled them off in a wide variety of styles. From the WWF main event brawl match with the Rock at Now Way Out to a technical showcase vs. Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania to a Big Japan-ish match against Shane McMahon at King of the Ring. Kurt's promos were usually high quality, especially when he played off of Austin's new character. Despite an ill-advised face turn, it's safe to say Kurt avoided the sophomore slump.
Third goes to Keiji Muto for reasons I explained at the /Slash. Basically, it boils down to having great matches despite a body racked with injuries, having them against wrestlers long considered too old or deteriorated to have great matches, winning six titles and carrying a federation on his back.
Deserving mention are Chris Jericho [great matches, finally "won the big one"], Jun Akiayama [umm, ditto], and Low Ki [dominated the indies].
Best Tag Team: Wowee zowee, did the WWF tag scene go down the crapper or what? 2000 was a great year for tag teams, with young and fresh teams like the
Hardys, Dudleys, and Edge and Christian dominating the scene, plus teams like Too
Cool, Head Cheese, Kaientai, the Acolytes, and any combination of the Radicals. Even teams like T'n'A and
DX could have some okay matches. What happened? Well, a lot of those teams were broken up, and replacing them with
Undertaker/Kane and Kronik didn't help. Plus, we saw the Dudleys/Hardys/E+C fight so many times they became stale, and one of those teams has been broken up and another looks to be headed that way. So sorry, no WWF team makes the cut.
So who did? Well, if you get Galavision and aren't watching
Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Buccanero Jr., you're missing out big time. By far the coolest tag team on the planet, UG and Bucky get the nod despite working a style not known for it's straight tag teams. They're crisp, bump and sell like kings, bring a first rate offense, and just have that aura about them. Competing in the Lucha match of the year helps too.
Coming in second are the Dramatic Dream Team's Konica Man & Kitano
Inferno. I'm probably cheating pretty badly here because I only saw one match where they teamed up. But in my defense, it was one of the cooler matches I've seen in recent memory, especially when Kitano pulled out a somersault Diamond Cutter. Besides, it's my list, so there.
Nyah.
I didn't know who to put in third until I got a big batch of New Japan tapes and I got a look at
Dr. Wagner & Silver King. I think it says a lot that two guys so versed in Lucha could go to Japan and have great matches in such a different style. Their IWGP Juniors tag match against Minoru Tanaka/Koji Kanemoto was one of the best tag matches of the year.
Deserving mention are Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho [great team, but only together for a month], Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo [one of the best things about late WCW], The Spanish Announce Team [fun indy team], the Briscoe Brothers [ditto].
Match of the Year: I never felt comfortable ranking matches from different countries against each other, so we'll break it down here.
WWF
1st: 02/25/01 Triple H vs. Steve Austin (2/3 Falls from No Way Out)
2nd: 04/01/01 Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF Title match from Wrestlemania)
3rd: 05/21/01 Steve Austin & Triple H vs. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho (RAW)
HHH/Austin was epic, with buckets of blood and hate and the added bonus of a clean (albeit flukey) ending. Most of the above applies to Rock/Austin from Wrestlemania, except it had Vince McMahon in the ring at the end. That last bit is what kept it from being MOTY. The Two-Man Power Trip vs. the Can-Can Connection was a masterfully executed tag match, and the payoff was great, so it gets third.
Japan
1st: 06/08/01 Genichiro Tenryu v. Keiji Muto
2nd: 06/04/01 Jushin Liger v. Minoru Tanaka
3rd: 06/06/01: Keiji Muto vs. Hiroshi Hase
Remember what I said about Muto and interesting opponents? First he and Hase take it to the mat for 40 minutes in an instant classic, then a mere two days later he takes the Triple Crown in an amazing match, even more so when you consider Tenryu is near 50 and Muto's knees (about as sturdy as a house of cards). Liger vs. Tanaka was a classic feud of legend vs. rising star that culminated in the BOSJ final that saw Liger get revenge for an earlier loss in a 25-minute gem. All in all, a pretty good 4-day span in Japan.
Mexico
1st: 11/01/01: El Hijo Del Santo & Negro Casas vs. Ultimo Guererro & Rey Buccanero Jr. (CMLL Tag Title Match)
2nd: 03/30/01 Satanico & Shocker & Black Warrior v. Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero & Tarzan Boy (Juicio Final)
3rd: 11/01/01: Rey Mysterio Jr./Black Warrior/Felino/Antifaz vs. Black Tiger/Nicho Millanairo/Juventud Guerrera/Virus
I'm sure it seems a little dubious that 2 of my favorite lucha matches of the year happened on the same show, but (a) I didn't get Galavision until a few months ago, and (b) those matches really rocked. Everything I said about Rey Buccanero and Ultimo Guerrero was on display in this match, and Santo works in overdrive pulling out all sorts of crazy dives. Match had awesome moments like Santo submitting to his own hold, the crazy dives and tons of nearfalls, and Casas finally getting the Majistral on the third try for the win and the titles. Santo and Casas end the Infernales' 15-month run with the titles and it rules because belts mean something in CMLL. Normally Lucha brawls = not good, but the six man from the Juicio Final PPV was stiff and completely insane. Great stuff, although not surprising when you see who was in it. And the recent 8-man tag not only did a swell job continuing the Tiger/Warrior feud, but also featured Rey, Juvie, and Psicosis/Nicho tearing it up like it was Nitro circa 1996. Just awesome.
Indies
1st: 07/21/01 Low-Ki v. American Dragon
2nd: 06/08/01 Quiet Storm/Brian XL/Chris Devine vs. Spanish Announce Team (Jose & Joel Maximo/Red)
3rd: 02/24/01 American Dragon v. Low-Ki
Low Ki and Dragon just blend so well together. Their matches are CW based, but don't center around dives or highspots, rather centering on stiffness and submissions. The 2/24 Super 8 Finals was great, but the 7/21 rematch may have been just a bit better thanks to the inclusion of Special Ref Ricky Steamboat. Divine Storm/XL vs. SAT is a blow-away must-see spot fest. I had Red as my top high flyer, and the Spanish Fly and Red Star Press as my favorite moves, and all are on glorious display in this match.
PPV's: Another really good year for WWF PPV, the best being Wrestlemania X-7, not only the best show of the year, but one of the best shows I've seen period. Awesome matches in a variety of styles, good booking, a great aura, hell, there was even a really good Undertaker match. For the second year in a row, No Way Out was a superior event, with the MOTY and the Rock finally ending Kurt Angle's title reign. Third place was all set for Royal Rumble, but then No Mercy came along with a solid card from nearly top to bottom and had a MOTYC between Chris Jericho and the Rock.
On the flip side, the only really bad PPV was Survivor Series '00, with a lot of pointless matches and Triple H being dropped from a crane (and recovering a few days later). There were other WWF shows that weren't stellar, but weren't bad enough to be on a "Worst" list. And I didn't see any eligible WCW or ECW shows, WOW Unleashed, or the I-Generation show, so it's not fair to comment on them. So I guess SuS gets the booby prize.
Promotional Moves: I had the WWF adding ECW to the WCW invasion as the best promotional move. And it was, since it saved the angle. But it's like congratulating someone for seeing a doctor after they shoot themselves in the foot. Yes, it may well have saved them, but it's their own damn fault for putting themselves in that situation.
You could go on forever about what killed the Invasion. You could point to Tacoma, or the WWF fans being trained to hate WCW, or the lack of big stars, or the astonishingly poor booking. All that matters is that what should have been the biggest angle of all time turned into an albatross. When it was announced that Vince had bought WCW, a light bulb went off over every wrestling fan's head. They all thought the same thing: it's finally here. WWF vs. WCW. And yet a few months later, aren't you glad the Alliance is gone? Don't Raw and Smackdown feel less cluttered now? Absolutely amazing.
But you know what realty killed it for me? All the titles. At a time when the WWF could stand to do away with a title or two, they introduce 4 more when WCW arrived. Was another tag title really needed? Was another light heavyweight title needed? And then they all switched so frequently no one could keep track of who had one belt, and they were all rendered meaningless. Thank God they're fixing the situation now.
Most Improved: Confession time: I hated Rhyno in ECW. I thought his matches were terrible ECW-style brawls, and I couldn't figure why he was being pushed to the moon. When he came to the WWF, something happened. Perhaps free of the ECW style, Rhyno's now a worker a look forward to watching (wrestling Kurt Angle instead of the Sandman no doubt helps).
I'm still not a big fan of Albert, but he has gone from a guy whose appearance meant an instant channel change to a wrestler who can put together the occasional okay match.
Rob Van Dam's another guy who benefited from a jump the WWF. Now that he's cut down on the posing, Robbie's stepped up his game a lot, and if he keeps wrestling the likes of Austin and Angle, he'll only get better.
Most Underrated: Most years I have a hard time coming up with three wrestlers for this categories. This year it was tough to narrow it down to three. I mean, how many talented Alliance guys got turned into scrubs? Take someone like
Raven, who got himself into shape and was actually doing some okay stuff in the hardcore division. C'mon, he deserved better than becoming an Alliance scrub. The guy's solid on the mic, let him say a few syllables.
I know most people don't have the highest opinion of Tommy Dreamer, but he put on some solid matches on the indy circuit after ECW shut down (specifically against Samoa Joe and Barry
Windham). Then he came to the WWF and was immediately banished to Jakked/Heat purgatory. Geez, give the man a chance.
And poor Chavo Guererro Jr. The guy started the year as a solid cruiserweight champ in WCW, then came to the WWF and didn't get a chance to do anything.
The Worst: Perry and Moppy was easily the worst gimmick of the year. It wasn't funny and it made you feel embarrassed to be a wrestling
fan...Hurricane and Mighty Molly got the occasional chuckle, but overall the gimmick was terrible and a gross waste of valuable
airtime...I don't think the Undertaker is the worst wrestler on the planet. Chyna, Billy Gunn, and Brian Adams were far worse. I still voted UT my least favorite wrestler,
'tho...speaking of Adams, he and Brian Clark nabbed the Worst Tag Team Award, and had the Worst Match against the UT/Kane at Unforgiven. Way to
go...I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Los Nuevos Infernales, who got nods in the Best Feud and Best Gimmick category. Tan called them the Mexican version of the Four Horseman, which is true, except there's no Sid Vicious or Mongo McMichael here. They're ALL
great...Putting the Big Show and Billy Gunn together is like adding
zeroes...Michael Cole, the Coach, and Tony S. are crappy announcers...Brian Blair, Mark Madden, and John House are crappy color
commentators...Excess is a crappy show...I think that's all I have to say here.
Promotions: As much as I ragged on the WWF, there were a lot of awesome matches this year, and that's what count at the end of the day for me. CMLL really delivered the good, the bad, and the goofy, and if I had been watching them all year they could have squeaked into the #1 slot. As it is, they get #2. New Japan featured a resurgent juniors division and some great PPVs, so they earn third.
Synopsis: It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. In retrospect, 2001 has the stink of the failed Invasion angle all over it, but at the same time, there were a lot of great matches and angles and feuds and interviews. It's hard to say how history will treat the year. Will it be remembered as a black mark in the history of the WWF? Or will something awesome come down the pike that makes us forget the Invasion? I'm hoping for the latter.
I think I liked 2000 better.
See you in '02.
Joe Gagne
bwo@infi.net