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WEEKLY THUMBS - 2008 THUMBS AWARDS

As some of you may know I write several columns for www.PWInsiderXtra.com.   Currently I write a weekly article “Weekly Thumbs” as well as two columns that come out at least monthly if not two times a month, “PPV by the numbers” and “Spotlight”.  Through writing all of these articles as well as my former weekly article “Tag Team Weekly” I have really been entrenched in the world of wrestling all year. 

With most of wrestling television being focused on Christmas or New Years themes or doing their best-of episodes this week I really can’t write something that is currently valid.  So, like so many others I’ve decided to join in the end of the year award fun.  I’m sure Pwinsider, PWinsiderxtra and various other websites and magazines will be giving their thoughts of the year and its wrestling performers.  I’ve decided to join them for this week and this week only.  Next week things will be back to normal and I will be speaking on the best and worst matches of the week as usual.

And now…On to the 2008 THUMBS awards! In each category I will be giving my top three or four nominations and then my winner…

Most Improved

Jamie Noble
MVP
Eric Young

Winner:  MVP

I thought all three of these gentlemen really stepped it up this year.  Eric Young has been one of the funniest and most charismatic characters in TNA.  Noble has that same type of charisma.  I chose MVP because his in-ring work combined with the on camera work has been nothing less than….wait a minute…lets do this right…He’s half man/half amazing!

Best Feud of the year

MVP vs. Matt Hardy (Smackdown)
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe (TNA)
Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels (Raw)

Winner:  Angle and Joe

Now I know a lot of people will disagree with this one because MVP and Hardy has been an incredible feud.  However, as we close the year, we still haven’t really gotten these guys one on one and so that is why I placed Angle and Joe in the winner's slot.  Their on camera banter was good and their triad of matches at this years PPV’s were just fantastic.  Michaels and Orton was a good feud but still a distant third to the other two

Comeback, Return or Trade of the year

Booker T (to TNA)
Edge (back from injury)
Chris Jericho (Back to Raw)
HHH (back from long injury)

Winner: Edge

This was one of the harder categories to decide and I almost decided to just delete it.  But truthfully all these guys made an impact with their injury returns or going to new companies.  Booker T’s pop at TNA his first night was huge but since then it has dwindled a bit.  HHH came in strong, even won (very briefly) the World title but is now sort of in and out of mid-card stuff.  Jericho ’s impeding return was nothing short of a marketing masterpiece but the payoff didn’t jive.  So I chose Edge.  He was gone for 4-5 months with an injury and on his first night back shocked the world at the Survivor Series and then a month later won the World Title back.  As Mr. Flair always says, “To be the man you got to beat the man”…and the man happens to be named Edge.

Best World Championship run of the year

Edge
John Cena
Kurt Angle
Bobby Lashley

Winner: John Cena

These four guys are the elite, don’t kid yourself otherwise.  Edge has been doing great numbers and gave a kick in the old firestarter pants to Smackdown.  Kurt Angle has not only held the TNA championship now for months but also a Japan title and several other titles.  Lashley was given the golden gift of wrestling – a feud with Mr. McMahon.  John Cena however basically held the title in fine fashion for almost two years with a couple hiccups.  He had the main event slot for almost every PPV.  He headlined Wrestlemania with the Showstopper and he was also a leading man in the eyes of the humanitarian causes that he helped throughout the year as well as on DVD.

Best Tag Team of the Year

Cade and Murdoch
XXX
3D
LAX

Winner: LAX

This was another really tough category for me because I covered all the tag team stuff so closely throughout the year.  In the end I mainly gave it to the team who I thought improved the most and was the most fun to watch in the ring.

Best Match of the year

Umaga vs. John Cena (Royal Rumble 2007 Last Man Standing match)
Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe (Hard Justice)
Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton (Hour Long main event of Raw)
Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro (Steel Cage)

Winner:  John Cena vs. Umaga

This is another award where many may disagree.  Truthfully, the technical skill in the Joe/Angle match is hard to match.  Shawn and Randy put on a spectacle.  Hardy and Nitro had a great tag match with it ending with Nitro “balling” himself on the cage door and Jeff Hardy escaping – a very memorable moment.  But the winner is Umaga and Cena.  They had a train wreck (in a good way) LMS match.  The rope being used to choke Umaga – just brilliant. 

Best PPV of the year

Royal Rumble 2007
Wrestlemania 23
TNA Hard Justice 2007

Winner: Royal Rumble 2007

This was top to bottom a fun show.  TNA hard justice had a few good matches, as did Wrestlemania but neither were as good as The Rumble.  The finish with Undertaker and Michaels going toe to toe was momentous.  Cena and Umaga’s match was my Match of the year winner.  Batista had fairly good match with Kennedy.  The only real ugly spot on the show was Test and Bobby Lashley. All in all though it was fantastic.  Unfortunately both TNA and WWE to me didn’t have a “hit it out of the park” PPV.

Female performer of the year

Candice Michelle
Gail Kim
Awesome Kong

Winner:  Awesome Kong

She is dominating.  She is careful with the other girls in the ring.  She can have a match with anybody.  She is young and built differently than any wrestler in the last 15 years.  Her matches with Gail have been wildly successful.  Candice would be my vote for most improved of the year and Gail Kim almost won this award.

Greatest Theme Song of 2007

Let it Roll – Velvet Revolver (Diva Search competition)
Ladies and Gentlemen – Saliva (WM23)
Rise Today – Alterbridge (Unforgiven)
Break The Walls Down 0 Sevendust ( Jericho ’s new 2007 theme)

Winner - Sevendust

All these bands I really dig a lot.  As a musician I felt it very important to have this award because sometimes I think it goes unnoticed.  Saliva was inches from winning this competition and two months ago it would have.  But Sevendust is just awesome and this song is a new rendition on an old theme that was cool to begin with.  Check out their new Cd’s “Retrospective 2” which is a live greatest hits compilation and their latest studio album “Alpha”.

Greatest Male Performer of 2007

Edge
MVP
John Cena
Kurt Angle
Samoa Joe
HHH
Shawn Michaels
Undertaker
CM Punk
Bobby Lashley
Booker T
Christian Cage
Jeff Hardy
Matt Hardy
Jamie Noble
Eric Young

Winner: Edge

That is a long list but its one that I think has the greatest performers wrestling today and to be honest there are a ton more where that came from.  I give credit to all of the performers of this year.  Edge just seemed to be a tad above the rest.  Every feud was made better because he was in it, every match he had was good or great.  Others on this list had great feuds, or a great match but no other person carried his character the way Edge did.  His in-ring work this year had been nothing short of impeccable. 

And so that brings an end to my Thumbs Awards.  I’ll be back next week with my thoughts on Raw, Smackdown, Ecw, and TNA.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year.  To e-mail me or to listen to my original music and to talk more about wrestling head over to www.myspace.com/joelcroyle 

I’d also like to especially thank Dave Sheerer for allowing me weekly to share my opinion on the greatest spectacle sport/art the world has ever seen.  Big ups to Mike Johnson and Buck Woodward as well!