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PWTORCH YEAR-END VOTING 12/29: Torch readers submit nominations for 2008 Wrestler of the Year Dec 29, 2008 - 3:42:43 PM
Each year as pro wrestling has evolved in the public spectrum, the factors to determine the Best Wrestler of the year seem to be more and more subjective. Is the best wrestler the one who drew the most fans and money for his or her promotion?
Is the best wrestler the person who had the most-impressive resume of great matches and epic encounters in the ring? Is it the most-technically-sound wrestler, with the award going to the likes of Chris Benoit in 1999 and Kurt Angle in 2002?
Or, should someone like Mickey Rourke, as Randy "the Ram" Robinson, be considered for voting because of the success his character generated for the make-believe "The Wrestler" movie?
Torch readers, here's your chance to nominate the wrestlers that stood out in your mind as the Best Wrestler(s) in 2008 and should be included on the year-end polls for readers to vote on.
Submit a pick (or two) for Best Wrestler and briefly explain yourself either by emailing pwtorch@gmail.com (recommended for PWTorch App and Mobile users) or adding your response in the "Comment" section below.
Year-End Awards Voting schedule
12/30 - Best PPV/Event of the Year nominations open
12/31 - Best Feud of the Year nominations open
1/1 through 1/4 - Readers submit nominations for each category
CHRIS JERICHO - honestly Jericho & edge could be "1a and 1b". However the
former y2j gets the nod here mostly b/c he didn't miss any time during the
year unlike edge. Jericho arguably carried raw this year w/his promos. His
epic feud w/hbk produced at least 2 match of the year candidates and he had
one of the best heel turns this decade
Dusty Robinson
29 Dec 2008, 12:59
Chris Jericho.He had a lot of good to great matches with different
wrestlers like Shawn Michaels 4 times on PPV(Judgement Day,The Great
American Bash,their unsanctioned match at Unforgiven,& the Ladder match for
the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy.)the 2 matches he had with
CM Punk,first the Cage match on the Sep.15 Raw for the title & the match
they had last Monday on RAW & the Cage match had with Batista on the Nov.3
Raw where Jericho won back the title after losing it to Batista th week
before at Cyber Sunday.
Jack Brand
29 Dec 2008, 13:26
#1- Jericho, for all the reasons mentioned above
#2- Edge- he is at the top of his, and everyone elses game. Not a bad
match/ promo/ character development this year.
#3- Jeff Hardy- Has anyone been hotter (skill wise) this year?
And the winner is.......YOUR paragon of virtue...Chris Jericho-The man can
do it all. No need to repeat the accolades, just give him the damn
plaque/trophy/ribbon...whatever!
Architect
29 Dec 2008, 15:01
Nigel McGuiness
TheGuy
29 Dec 2008, 15:22
Jericho, with Edge in a close second.
Bababooey23
29 Dec 2008, 19:08
The best wrestler of 2008 was without a doubt........DOLPH ZIGGLER! I
guarantee you he will be World Champion by 2009!
Jay P
30 Dec 2008, 03:39
I can't choose one, so I'll name four potential nominees
Edge-Carried the Smackdown brand, best heel in the business, GREAT matches
with Undertaker and Rey Misterio and provided one of the years most
memorable moments with his awesome promo on RAW, his beatdown at the hands
of Batista and subsequent championship loss to CM Punk
Chris Jericho-great transformation from Y2J to current character, awesome
promos and awesome matches with Shawn Michaels, Batista and CM Punk. Was
also involved in several memorable angles (throwing Shawn Michaels through
the Jeritron, punching Shawn Michaels' wife, etc.)
Jeff Hardy-started the year with a hot fued with Randy Orton, chases the
championship all year before finally winning it in an awesome three way
dance with Triple H and Edge. Great matches with Randy Orton, Umaga, Chris
Jericho and Triple H throughout the year and two of the more memorable RAW
moments of the year with the swanton off the set onto Randy Orton and the
whisper in the wind on Umaga from the top of the cage
CM Punk-broke the glass ceiling by winning the world championship in what I
consider RAW's most memorable moment of the year. While his reign wasnt
booked well he did hold the championship for several months, defended the
championship at Summerslam and was never pinned for the championship. He
won the tag team championships and is currently the number 1 contender to
the IC championship. Pretty good year.
Holly
30 Dec 2008, 06:20
All excellent choices Jay P. I totally agree with you. Edge really did
carry Smackdown. He is one of the best, if not THE best heels in the
buisness. I also agree with you about Chris Jericho. Great character
transformation and his work with HBK was I believe his best ever. Can't
deny the year Jeff had. Moment of the year was the swanton off the set
onto Randy. CM Punk had an undeniably great year. Honestly, if I am
forced to pick one, that's almost impossible. I guess if I HAD to pick
one, probably would be Chris Jericho.
Trojan Man
30 Dec 2008, 11:20
I gotta go with Edge.
Will
31 Dec 2008, 03:42
I'm a huge HBK fan so I'm going to nominate him for many reasons. I think
everyone forgets his IMO Match of the Year with Ric Flair at Wrestlemania.
Shawn (along with Jericho) had the best feud of the year, and he's been in
the best storylines (including this new one with JBL which is showcasing
his awesome storytelling ability.) In his feud with Jericho the beat downs,
and injuries he (supposedly) sustained, yet still kept wrestling, showed
his heart and will to compete. The hint of him retiring was a HUGE
heartstopper, and then to top it all off almost every single match he's
been in; as always he's stolen the show. IMO he's the best wrestler on the
card and is my Wrestler of the Year.
Will
31 Dec 2008, 03:44
Also forgot to mention his matches with Batista in which he "faked" an knee
injury and the storyline that they had.
Learnl Jones
02 Jan 2009, 09:46
Chris Jericho
This was by far the best year of his career. He abandoned his fun loving
"Y2J" persona and became one of the best heels one Raw this year. Plus, his
title reign was much more significant than his reign in 2002. I don't know
if he can have a better year than 2008.
Alex
08 Jan 2009, 10:43
I am amazed (and not in a good way) by this final list of nominations and
the way people seem to be leaning.
Chris Jericho for wrestler of the year? Really? Does everyone here have
selective memory or something, it would seem to be the only way to explain
away everyone forgetting that Jericho was horrifically bad at the start of
2008. It took him 4-6 months to really produce anything of worth and value
and away from Shawn Michaels, Jericho has been massively inconsistent he
had a series of dull matches with Punk and Batista as World Champion.
However I can at least understand the logic behind popular support for
Jericho but the nomination of Edge but not The Undertaker is completely
mind boggling to me. Can anyone name a great match Edge has had in 2008
that didn’t involve The Undertaker? And his performances whilst
‘carrying’ Smackdown have been horrible but how Edge can be in the
running for this and not The Undertaker is incredible.
By far and away the front runners for this should be
Shawn Michaels - He’s had arguably the best single year of his career to
date and has contested a series of fantastic matches from start-to-finish
in 2008. He injected the emotional intensity that was missing from
Flair’s retirement angle, had a series of great matches with Batista and
then Jericho. Not to mention the brilliant TV matches he’s been having
all year and the truly brilliant performances he’s been turning in on the
mic. Michaels has been the shining light of WWE television this year from
start-to-finish.
Nigel McGuiness - McGuiness has gone from strength-to-strength all year and
has been just about the only consistently great thing about the
increasingly inconsistent ROH product. Aside from occasional sparks of
excellence from Aries, McGuiness has been the only reason to watch ROH
during 2008.
Kurt Angle - Despite TNA booking and a body that is falling apart around
him Angle has had great match after great match this year. Arguably he’s
lacked a defining feud but he’s turned in another excellent year this
year.
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Each year as pro wrestling has evolved in the public spectrum, the factors to determine the Best Wrestler of the year seem to be more and more subjective. Is the best wrestler the one who drew the most fans and money for his or her promotion?
