PWTorch.com readers have been asked to contribute their picks for Match of the Year and MVP Wrestler of the Year for 2003. To see the previous seven batches of picks, click on the Torch Feedback link on the left menu bar...

MVP OF THE YEAR:

(1) Chris "Highlight of the Night" Jericho: The complete and perfect package. He has in ring ability unsurpassed by an extreme few. He can talk on the mic and even when he messes up, it just seems right. He can carry even the worst wrestlers to a decent or outstanding match no less. He has no problems putting anybody over to elevate them. His consistency and sheer passion for the business is displayed every time he steps in the squared circle. He truly has no need for a belt and he knows it. He is the SOLE reason to tune your T.V. to RAW every Monday night even when the last RAW was the worst show you ever seen in your life. PERIOD.

(2) Kurt Angle: My God, it's Kurt Angle...need I say more?

3) Raven: He is shining in his current role for TNA/NWA. He showed Vince that he can succeed despite not working for the "big daddy" of all wrestling shows. He has skills both in and out of the ring and I look forward to watching him develop as the years pass.

MATCH OF THE YEAR

(1) Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (WM19): A build to a storyline that it seems the WWE has forgotten how to do properly, but they fortunately did not drop the ball here. This can only be supported by 2 athletes that compliment each other move for move and even taunt for taunt. This has to be the single greatest match I have seen in my 15+ years of watching wrestling.

(2) Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (Royal Rumble) : Benoit and Angle rarely disappoint if at all. Solid match with classic wrestling is a good pair in my book.

(1) Flair vs. Triple H (Raw) : Okay, now I can't remember any other time where I couldn't honestly say who was going to win the match. Usually, I can say "so and this person will do this, and then interference or chair shot by this person and then BAM, 1, 2, 3 then this person will win"...BUT, I really really thought Ric was taking the gold! The false finishes and the support given to Flair throughout the match made this one bout to remember. Flair looked younger and more energized and I have not seen that since he went against Jericho back @ Unforgiven. Flair is old but he can still hang with the best of them.

John Swengel
Tucson Ariz.
(Not a Torch VIP/Newsletter subscriber, but will be!)

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2003 MVP

(1) Kurt Angle: Even when he was in the hospital, the oil portrait of Your Olympic Hero proved as entertaining as anything else on television. Best work of the year in the ring and on the mike.

(2) Chris Benoit: Wrestled good to great matches with everyone from Angle to A-Train. Second best of the year in the ring.

(3) John Cena: The most compelling character in wrestling today. Second best of the year on the stick.

2003 MOTY

I had trouble deciding whether to pick the matches that I thought were the best of the year (Angle vs. Benoit at The Rumble; The Lesnar vs. Angle Ironman match; A.J. Styles vs. Low Ki vs. Paul London at the RoH Anniversary show) or the matches that I enjoyed the most in 2003. I've chosen to go with the latter mainly because I haven't seen the following matches mentioned yet.

(1) Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Matt Hardy (w/MFers). (06.05.03. Anaheim. SD): A free-TV title change is always nice, and the action was as good as expected, but I liked this match because of the insane crowd response, the great job Tazz and Cole did calling the match, and the fact that it was a cruiserweight main event. I loved this match because of the honest emotion shown by the new cruiserweight champion and his family following the win.

(2) Brian Kendrick vs. Kurt Angle. (02.27.03. London, Ontario. SD): I couldn't sit still during this match, I found myself caught up in the action and genuinely wanting Kendrick to win. The countdown graphic on the corner of the screen was a nice touch, adding tremendously to the overall drama. Angle was vicious, Kendrick sold everything well and kept coming back for more, and the final Angle Slam and three-count with two seconds left was heartbreaking. Spanky's eventual victory over Shannon Moore and subsequent de-push were anticlimactic, but not enough to spoil my memory of this match.

(3) The Rock vs. The Hurricane. (03.10.03. Cleveland. RAW): The match wasn't exactly a five-star classic. The ending, which saw Rock rolled up for three after being distracted by Steve Austin, was kind of a cop-out. Much like Spanky, Helms got his big win while on the receiving end of a push to nowhere. Regardless, this match and the very entertaining skits which led up to it were by far the best thing I saw on Monday night last year.

Gordi Whitelaw
Roberts Creek, BC, Canada

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MVP OF THE YEAR:

(1) Kurt Angle : Going into Wrestlemania as injured as he was, he was the only heel who would have been capable of main eventing the show, so props to that for sure. And when he also came back from surgery he had countless good matches, and was extremely entertaining to watch throughout the early summer until mid fall.

(2) Chris Jericho: He just seemed to really take the ball as the true top heal on Raw. Triple H didn't seem to do much for Raw until evolution came into full swing here in the fall, and I think Jericho carried a good part of Raw on his shoulders.

(3) Eddie Guerrero: He really came into his own in the second half of this year. I think if WWE would give a smaller guy a push to the main event, he could become a huge star in 2004.

MATCH OF THE YEAR

Rob Van Dam (photo by Mike Lano, PWTorch)

(1) RVD vs. Christian (I.C. Ladder Match) September 29th Raw: This match was filled with great spots, and a dramatic finish, definitely my favorite of 2003. I really think WWE should utilize RVD and Christian a lot better than they do, but I'm sure I'm one of millions who think that.

(2) Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (March 30th, Seattle Washington, Wrestlemania XIX) : I was at this event, and the energy the crowd gave off and amazing story they told was truly a match to go down in history. I was extremely surprised by the finish but I think that's what gave its intensity.

(3) Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle (WWE Championship) (Royal Rumble, Boston Mass.): This match had everything. There were times in the match i truly thought Benoit could have won, and might have. Angle and Benoit always put on an amazing show, but I really feel this was the best of the Angle-Benoit classics.

Jay Hunter
Vernon, B.C., Canada

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MVP OF THE YEAR:

(1) Kurt Angle: The guy proved he was the most valuable guy WWE has early in 2003 when he risked paralysis by wrestling the main-event at Wrestlemania. Not only did he wrestle the match, he put on one of the best matches of the year. He goes on to have an experimental surgery so he can try to return early, then comes back and has consistently good matches, never missing a beat.

(2) Brock Lesnar: He had good matches through out all of 2003, and proved his value both in the ring and on the mic. Brock is now what Triple H was in 2000: a heel who is credible enough to beat the faces, but smart enough to sell the matches and angles so that the audience doesn't stop enjoying booing him as a heel.

(3) Chris Jericho: The glue that held Raw together when things got bad. Jericho was "on" every night of the year with both his character and mic skills, and in-ring performance. His matches with Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Goldberg and every match he had where he took a pin from a low card wrestler highlighted the performer Jericho is: a great one that is nothing but professional, and can be counted on to deliver the goods in any angle or match.

MATCH OF THE YEAR:

(1) Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (Royal Rumble). The two best wrestlers putting on one of the best matches I've ever seen. Chris Benoit's standing ovation is a testament to what it was.

(2) Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar - Iron Man Match (Smackdown). I was glued to my seat the entire time. They told a great story with this match, and the drama in it was top notch. I was right there with them through the whole thing.

(3) Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar (Summerslam). This match had me screaming at my TV. When I think back to the best matches of the year, how can I not include a match where I was yelling in my den by myself?

Mat La Vore
Lake Worth, Fla.
Torch VIP/Newsletter subscriber

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YOUR PICKS ARE WELCOME... HERE'S HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

This week's "Hot Topic" discussion point is: Who deserves to be named the MVP Wrestler of the Year in the United States/Canada? And which match deserves to be named Match of the Year in the U.S./Canada?

Send you top three picks for MVP and top three picks for Match of the Year (include as much info as possible - date, location, PPV name if it was on a PPV, etc.) to: feedback@pwtorch.com.

We will be posting batches of reader picks over the next few weeks in the "Torch Feedback" section. Please format your picks like this:

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MVP OF THE YEAR:

(1) Wrestler A: Brief comments explaining your pick, no more than about 10 lines.

(2) Wrestler B: More brief comments.

(3) Wrestler C: More brief comments.

MATCH OF THE YEAR

(1) Wrestler A vs. Wrestler B (Date, Location, Event) : Brief comments, no more than ten lines.

(2) (1) Wrestler C vs. Wrestler D (Date, Location, Event) : Brief comments, no more than ten lines.

(1) Wrestler E vs. Wrestler F (Date, Location, Event) : Brief comments, no more than ten lines.

Your Name Your Hometown (And as always, indicate if you're a Torch VIP/Newsletter Subscriber)

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The Torch staff will be making their award picks and the Torch's 15th Annual Year-End Awards in over 12 categories will be announced at PWTorch.com in January and in the special Year-End Awards special edition of the Torch Newsletter in January.

Note: Check out the next week's worth of PWTorch Lounge articles as the Lounge writers are being encouraged to tackle this topic in their columns this week.

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