Wrestler of the Year

[Jack-Hammer]

I had to give this one to The Miz. I can definitely see a case made for Daniel Bryan as well, but this has just simply been The Miz's year. In early October 2009, The Miz won the United States Championship and held it for the rest of 2009 and for most of 2010. Along the way, he simultaneously becomes one half of the Unified WWE Tag Team Champions. Before eventually dropping the United States Championship to Daniel Bryan at Night of Champions, The Miz wins the Raw MITB match at the first MITB ppv; all but guaranteeing he'll be a World Champion. Then, about a month ago, Miz cashes in the briefcase and defeats Randy Orton live on Raw for the WWE Championship. The first time the WWE Championship has changed hands on free television in roughly 4.5 years.

While Michael Cole & The Miz both say that he's "the most must see WWE Champion in history", there's at least a little truth to it. The Miz has gotten tons of attention from the mainstream media since becoming champ, which brings positive attention to the WWE. Whether people hate The Miz or love him, droves are more interested in the WWE Championship picture now than there has been in a long time. It's just been The Miz's year.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I, too, found it remarkable how The Miz opened so many shows with The Big Show before Daniel Bryan came along and feuded with him.

Just, you know, for the new page:

Screw it, I'm going to go through this wrestler by wrestler. Oh yeah, it's happening. Look forward to it.

This hasn't even been Kurt Angle's most impressive year in TNA. He hasn't had the best matches, cut the best promos or won the most titles. 2010 won't nearly go down as one of Kurt Angle's best years. He wants me to back him for wrestler of the year? He needs to become part of a company that isn't consistently gash.

Cena had a terrific WWE title reign at the start of the year to go along with a terrific series of matches with Batista (who, coincidentally, is conspicuous by his absence from this list) but, ever since the invasion of Nexus, he's consistently bored me. Oh, and also his purple merchandise isn't anywhere near as good as his orange merchandise. I think that's where it all went wrong.

Barrett is constantly bouncing up and down in my estimations. Above average on the microphone, decidedly average in the ring. Frankly, I'm surprised that he's failed to become the first ever British WWE Champion. If he had that under his, um, belt then I'd be more inclined to give him my vote. An impressive rookie year though - no doubt.

Kane. Le yawn. He bored me so much that when I yawn, I do it in a sultry French accent. You know, to interest myself enough so I don't fall into a boredom coma. His promos with The Undertaker were easily the most cringeworthy thing this year - and it was a fucking cringeworthy year. No way in hell.

Randy Orton. Randy Orton, Randy Orton. More like Blandy Boreton, amirite? Orton's boringness has made me shed my closet Orton mark status. I think.

Miz, eh. I don't hate him as much as some people. I don't like him as much as some people. He's definitely had a very good year though. Aside from Punk and maybe Barrett, he's likely the best promo man in the WWE. He had a match of the year candidate - or is that candidates? - with Daniel Bryan. Evidence since points that more towards being Bryan's doing rather than his though.

CM Punk is a stronger candidate than he initially comes across at. He got buried and buried and buried and buried this year, yet still found a way to crawl out of it with dignity. The best promo man hands down. His promo against Mysterio's family, his promo in Chicago, his promo in the rumble, his Straight Edge Conversion promos. Nobody else even comes close. Probably my second place guy. That, and he had some decent matches with Rey Rey.

Sheamus. I like Sheamus. I'm really starting to run out of steam here. Really established himself and had an interesting run with the title. Not really remarkable enough to be my pick.

AJ Styles. Previously the best wrestler in the world. Went from being used correctly for a short period to - surprise surprise - being chronically misused. Still an underrated promo man, mind you.

Daniel Bryan
Uncle Sam's Wrestler of the Year 2010​

That I'm going with my boy DBD may be no surprise. Actually, it may come as a surprise. Lately, I've criticised him for losing momentum. But when you consider that he managed to initially build an incredible amount of momentum as "the guy that can't even beat rookies" then that's not very surprising. Even though - weirdly - I wouldn't rate him in the top three promo guys, his best promos have only come second to Punk this year. "You can't even escape a handshake!" and "You are not better than me!" are probably the two best single lines this year. He's had the two best feuds this year; with Miz and Cole respectively. He was involved in the news story of the year when he was released, and then the surprise of the year when he returned at Survivor Series. Every match he's in is golden. He's made midcard fodder like Ziggler, DiBiase and - dare I say it - The Miz have match of the year candidates. The dude is just a walking wrestling God. Yeah.

Perfectly objective. I don't see why losing matches should be harmful to his case. On NXT, he cut some of - if not the - the best promos of the year. Everybody went apeshit when he was released after choking Justin Roberts. A pay-per-view went off the air to "Dan-iel Bry-an! *clap clap clap*". His return was one of - if not the - best moments of the year. Since his return, he's given match of the year candidates to otherwise unremarkable midcarders like Ted DiBiase, Dolph Ziggler and, yes, The Miz. Also, Chris Jericho according the actual poll.

I wasn't much of a fan of him in his ROH days. I liked a match with Nigel McGuinness here and there, but I thought he was overrated and generally pretty boring. When I heard he was going to NXT and, teehee, going to have his name reversed Shawn Michaels style I was looking forward to him being shown up. He proved me wrong on the first night and every night afterwards.

The Miz? Pfft. Yeah, he cut a sort of long promo where he did a pretty good JBL impression. His highlights were being punched in the face and being gifted a match that stands head and shoulders over anything he'd done before.

I don't think DBD is wrestler of the year because I'm a fan of his. I'm a fan of his because he's wrestler of the year.

 

[Coco]

So The Miz won a bunch of fake belts which he rarely defended and that somehow makes him the best wrestler of 2010?

No thanks.

Also, the definition of "mainstream media" being used by some in here is a joke.

 

[JGlass]

So The Miz won a bunch of fake belts which he rarely defended and that somehow makes him the best wrestler of 2010?

Like it or not, that's how you measure success in professional wrestling, that and drawing power, audience reaction, and good matches and feuds. Miz has proven himself in all of these categories.

I love Daniel Bryan, and while he is extremely exciting and fun to watch, he hasn't won any titles besides the US title, he was eliminated from NXT in the first round, he was FIRED and missing for about two months, and hasn't had any interesting feuds besides a brief program with The Miz (which we all know was interesting because The Miz was able to make us hate him so much), and a feud with DiBiase (who couldn't make a feud with The Rock or Stone Cold worth watching).

The Miz is money for the WWE. Every time he gets on the mic, he gets great heat. Every time he wins a match, the crowd goes crazy. And every time he loses a match or someone gets the better of him, the crowd pops.

So once again, here is what we're looking at here,

Daniel Bryan
Better Wrestler

The Miz
More titles
Better on the mic
Better draw
More PPV appearances
Gets a better response

Now there's no guideline for voting for Wrestler of the Year, so if you want to vote based on your favorite go ahead, but if you want to vote for the guy that deserves it, it's The Miz.

 

[Coco]

Based on your list, it strikes me how you admit that Daniel Bryan is the better wrestler. In my world, that seems to be something that would make him more likely to be Wrestler of the Year than Miz. Better wrestler = Wrestler of the Year.

 

[JGlass]

Based on your list, it strikes me how you admit that Daniel Bryan is the better wrestler. In my world, that seems to be something that would make him more likely to be Wrestler of the Year than Miz. Better wrestler = Wrestler of the Year.

So then why didn't he win wrestler of the year last year? And the year before that? Was he not still the best wrestler last year?

Wrestler of the year, to me, implies which wrestler had the best year. Daniel Bryan had a solid rookie year, but it's quite obvious that no wrestler has had as much success in 2010 as The Miz.

 

[Coco]

The Miz coasted when not riding the momentum Bryan and Cole gave him. He did nothing with the US title except have shit matches with R-Truth and MVP. His tag title run was a joke. His MITB win did nothing but make a boring midcarder a main eventer to be. He got all of this through hard work but that doesn't make someone good and it certainly does nothing to trump the mediocrity on see on my television every Monday night.

If you want someone who accomplished something this year, look no further than John Cena, who made Wade Barrett and several nobodies a big deal, had a huge main event feud with Batista, and continues to be the top draw in wrestling. He's works hard too and, unlike Miz, is good.

Even if being the best wrestler isn't the standard you choose to use, there's really no way to justify Miz as the best wrestler of the year.

 

[JGlass]

The Miz coasted when not riding the momentum Bryan and Cole gave him.

What? He was one of the most hated heels prior to the Cole/Bryan angle. Let's not forget the reason Cole got behind Miz is because Cole hated Daniel Bryan and Miz was his disapproving NXT Pro. I would argue one of the reasons DBD was over so immensely from the start is because he was the Anti-Miz, and the fans hated Miz so much that they went crazy for the guy who represented everything Miz did not. The fact is, besides the IWC, not many fans knew who DBD was prior to his NXT debut, and while his ring work certainly helped him to get over, I don't doubt that it was The Miz whom helped make Bryan the mega-face he is today.

He did nothing with the US title except have shit matches with R-Truth and MVP.

Debatable. They weren't legendary matches, but they weren't a total waste of time either. His feud with MVP was very good, and it included his now Promo of the Year nominated speech about how the wrestlers backstage disrespected him in the past, and followed that with a great verbal exchange with MVP. As far as his fatal-4-way match is concerned... I'm not a big fan of fatal-4-ways, so I don't really have much praise for it, but I wouldn't say it's Miz's fault.

His tag title run was a joke.

I wouldn't say that. Without a heel by his side to make him look meaner, Big Show is often hard to root against. The last time he really had any success as a solo-heel was during his feud with Cena which I remember as being sort of a time killer between more interesting Cena feuds. The Miz was the one who generated the heat for that tag-team, while Show was the one who took care of business, which was the exact same formula that worked for JeriShow. Furthermore, their tag title run was most certainly not a joke. I will give you the fact that Miz did not defend the US Belt very much during his time as champion, but ShowMiz defeated Dx, the SES, Morrison and Truth, MVP and Henry, and Tatsu and Goldust, before finally losing to the Hart Dynasty, effectively making the Hart Dynasty important for the first time ever. This tag-run made Miz look legitimate, it gained him even more heat, and in the end he helped put over younger talent. This joke you speak of seems to be missing the punch line.

His MITB win did nothing but make a boring midcarder a main eventer to be.

I believe you are in the minority when you say Miz is boring. I will reiterate that Miz is not one of my favorite superstars, probably not even in my top 10, but he is anything but boring. Week in and week out he gets a reaction from the live crowd and the viewers at home. Sure, he may not put on a match like Daniel Bryan, but the way he manages to win is enraging. I've said it before and I've said it again, when you can get a 21 year old man pissed off over a scripted ending to a scripted television show, you know you're doing something right.

He got all of this through hard work but that doesn't make someone good and it certainly does nothing to trump the mediocrity on see on my television every Monday night.

You're right that working hard should have nothing to do with voting for Wrestler of the Year, but once again, he is not mediocre. That is your opinion, and one which you are entitled to, but I believe most wrestling fans would disagree with you. In fact, at this point I'd say 45 of them disagree with you.

If you want someone who accomplished something this year, look no further than John Cena, who made Wade Barrett and several nobodies a big deal, had a huge main event feud with Batista, and continues to be the top draw in wrestling. He's works hard too and, unlike Miz, is good.

Cena was actually my second choice. Very good wrestler, fantastic talker, and makes everything he does interesting. But The Miz had a huge breakout year, won every type of belt and accomplishment, and has gone from midcarder to most hated heel in the WWE, save Vickie Guerrero. He won belts from every tier and money in the bank in the same year! That's an incredible accomplishment no matter how much stock you put in titles.

Even if being the best wrestler isn't the standard you choose to use, there's really no way to justify Miz as the best wrestler of the year.

Midcard to top heel.
US Champion
Tag Champion
WWE Champion
Money in the Bank
Wrestling in every PPV except Summerslam, where he still played a major role
Elevating other superstars around him

Saying there's no way to justify Miz as the Wrestler of the Year is ludicrous and you know it. He has had a year that most wrestlers would give a kidney to have and he deserves recognition for it. The Miz is by far the wrestler of the year.

 

[Coco]

Daniel Bryan got Daniel Bryan over. If you think the Daniel Bryan chants through a pay per view ending shortly after his release were the work of the fucking Miz and not DBD's reputation, then there's something wrong with you seeing as nobody watched NXT. The Miz didn't do that for anyone, just like he didn't bring MVP or R-Truth to the next level, just like he failed to elevate any other superstar around him.

If you don't want Miz to take credit for one bad four way match, that's fine. He doesn't have to. He can take credit for every other fucking worthless non-Daniel Bryan, non-John Morrison, non-John Cena matches he's had in his pathetic excuse for a career as a professional wrestler. Go ahead. Pick one, as just about every match he has proves he's a worthless worker who doesn't raise anyone else's game but rather needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to passable matches.
Additionally, the tag teams you listed were thrown together jokes, making them jokes for having such a short run in such a thin division. When one of your biggest accomplishments as a team is defeating Golddust and Yoshi, it's really not something that belongs on the resume of a supposed superstar of the year. He was a paper champion in a dead division. Big fucking deal.

BTW, DX defeated the SES. For the record.

As for putting over young talent, the only time that came close to happening was against the Hart Dynasty, but they really owe their heat to Bret, not Miz.

The ways Miz wins stopped being engaging when Edge used them for the 100th time. Get the fuck over whatever heel fetish you have and smell the coffee.

Bottom Line: Having a breakout year doesn't make you the wrestler of the year. Being the wrestler of the year does. Miz broke out. Cena and Bryan have him beat in every way imaginable.

And for future reference, telling me that I "know it" doesn't add to your argument and you know it. Save that shit for the annual Lord Sidious Impersonation Contest.

 

[JGlass]

Daniel Bryan got Daniel Bryan over. If you think the Daniel Bryan chants through a pay per view ending shortly after his release were the work of the fucking Miz and not DBD's reputation, then there's something wrong with you seeing as nobody watched NXT.

Through constant replays on the main shows, WWE.com content, and wrestling matches on RAW, it's hard not to hear about the NXT rookies, especially Bryan. I'm not trying to say Bryan didn't get over primarily on his own merit, but being put in a program right away with Miz helped put him over the top. There's a reason they put the best wrestling talent in NXT Season 1 with Miz, they knew that there would be magic right from the start, and to give DBD all the credit for that is totally unfair.

The Miz didn't do that for anyone, just like he didn't bring MVP or R-Truth to the next level, just like he failed to elevate any other superstar around him.

It's hard to bring people who don't have the ability to bring themselves to the next level. Once again, I never said Daniel Bryan didn't have what it took to get over to the next level on his own merits, but Miz helped shoot him up to that level nearly immediately. Furthermore for a wrestler to get another superstar to get over on the wrestler's talent alone is a gift very few superstars, if any, have. I can't think of any superstar since possibly Stone Cold who had that ability. Even Cena can't make Khali interesting.

If you don't want Miz to take credit for one bad four way match, that's fine. He doesn't have to. He can take credit for every other fucking worthless non-Daniel Bryan, non-John Morrison, non-John Cena matches he's had in his pathetic excuse for a career as a professional wrestler.

He's won every belt and headlined PPVs, and it's looking like he's going to headline Mania. Apparently you and I judge professional wrestling careers very differently. As for his wrestling ability, I've already conceded that he is not the wrestling talent that Daniel Bryan is. That said, Miz's matches are always intense and interesting. He's not going to do any of the high flying moves John Morrison does, he's not going to have the high pace of Cena, he's not going to make his moves look as devastating as Bryan, but he's going to make the match extremely emotional, and that's one of the most important things you can do as a wrestler. All of the best matches in wrestling have had emotions running extremely high as the match drags on, and that's an area that Miz excels in.

Go ahead. Pick one, as just about every match he has proves he's a worthless worker who doesn't raise anyone else's game but rather needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to passable matches.

The video quality is shit, and the audio cuts out about halfway through, but it's a really solid match with an exciting ending.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Somtznu4--o[/YOUTUBE]

Additionally, the tag teams you listed were thrown together jokes, making them jokes for having such a short run in such a thin division. When one of your biggest accomplishments as a team is defeating Golddust and Yoshi, it's really not something that belongs on the resume of a supposed superstar of the year. He was a paper champion in a dead division. Big fucking deal

.

When I think paper champion I think of a guy who won the belt and defended it once before losing it to a much bigger name wrestler. Sure, Miz and Show defended it against some pretty lame teams like Yoshi and Goldust, but they did beat Dx (twice) and retained against JoMo and R-Truth at Wrestlemania. Their run as tag-champs was not the stuff of legends, but it most certainly was not a paper championship run.
BTW, DX defeated the SES. For the record.

As for putting over young talent, the only time that came close to happening was against the Hart Dynasty, but they really owe their heat to Bret, not Miz.

He passed the tag title off to them, that has to count for something. He also is helping to get Alex Riley over every time they are seen together. Hell, any young NXT rookie he said a kind word to gets a little bit of a rub from Miz. He's so hated that the second a wrestler shows any sign of affection for him, he immediately becomes a questionable character.

The ways Miz wins stopped being engaging when Edge used them for the 100th time. Get the fuck over whatever heel fetish you have and smell the coffee.

Heel fetish? So because I think Miz is the wrestler of the year, I have a heel fetish? Have I even mentioned liking any other heels in this entire debate? I don't like Miz because he's a heel, once again, he doesn't even crack my top 10 list. That said, I appreciate good heel work, and Miz is doing a great job. I'm sorry if you've become so jaded to the WWE that you find the Miz boring, but the majority of WWE fans would seem to differ. As I've mentioned before, he gets terrific heat wherever he goes.

Bottom Line: Having a breakout year doesn't make you the wrestler of the year. Being the wrestler of the year does. Miz broke out. Cena and Bryan have him beat in every way imaginable.

Having a breakout year doesn't make you the wrestler of the year, true, but it's certainly an accomplishment worth mentioning. Furthermore, it wasn't so much a breakout year as it was a "skyrocketing into the spotlight" year, so I apologize if my rhetoric didn't help put that point across. He was already over as a heel coming into 2010, but he managed to make himself the most hated superstar in the WWE and one of the biggest names in the company.

And you keep saying Bryan has beat him in every other way imaginable, but the only points you continue to make towards Daniel Bryan are the fact Bryan is a better wrestler and that when he was gone, the fans had Daniel Bryan chants. Meanwhile, it's not like The Miz has 0 crowd interaction–he probably has just as much crowd interaction as any face–and it's not like he's stunk up the arena night in and night out. The fans are always into his matches and he always gets a huge reaction out of them. Furthermore, he's won 3 different types of titles, he's main evented PPVs, and he's been all over WWE television as well as on other television programs. I know I've said this probably about 3 times already, but you don't seem to be getting the point.

And for future reference, telling me that I "know it" doesn't add to your argument and you know it. Save that shit for the annual Lord Sidious Impersonation Contest.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I also do a mean Kermit the Frog and a decent Randy Savage if you're interested.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

It's hard to bring people who don't have the ability to bring themselves to the next level. Once again, I never said Daniel Bryan didn't have what it took to get over to the next level on his own merits, but Miz helped shoot him up to that level nearly immediately. Furthermore for a wrestler to get another superstar to get over on the wrestler's talent alone is a gift very few superstars, if any, have. I can't think of any superstar since possibly Stone Cold who had that ability. Even Cena can't make Khali interesting.

A month after facing Cena, Khali won the world title. Apparently Cena has that kind of ability.

He's won every belt and headlined PPVs, and it's looking like he's going to headline Mania. Apparently you and I judge professional wrestling careers very differently. As for his wrestling ability, I've already conceded that he is not the wrestling talent that Daniel Bryan is. That said, Miz's matches are always intense and interesting. He's not going to do any of the high flying moves John Morrison does, he's not going to have the high pace of Cena, he's not going to make his moves look as devastating as Bryan, but he's going to make the match extremely emotional, and that's one of the most important things you can do as a wrestler. All of the best matches in wrestling have had emotions running extremely high as the match drags on, and that's an area that Miz excels in.

Don't be so generous to the Miz. He wasn't the headline of TLC. Cena was.

 

[JGlass]

A month after facing Cena, Khali won the world title. Apparently Cena has that kind of ability.

I said make interesting, not get him stuck in the main event.

Don't be so generous to the Miz. He wasn't the headline of TLC. Cena was.

Fair enough, headlining was too strong a word. Still, he has still in a main event at TLC. You can't tell me Randy Orton vs. Miz wasn't the second biggest match on that card.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Daniel Bryan/Dolph Ziggler just won WWE.com's joint top match of the year along with Undertaker/Michaels II.

I thought that was relevant to the discussion.

 

[CelticCorey]

I'm a Miz Mark. Though I will never mistake Miz for a technician, he was:

U.S. Champ twice
Tag Team Champion
Mr. Money in the Bank
WWE Champion

Within the first 11 months of 2010.

 

[Coco]

I wish you had a life and wouldn't have felt the need to sign up and bring this to a tie with an hour and a half to go. Fuck's sake.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Co-wrestlers of the year? Ehh, I'll take it.

 

[JGlass]

Wow. I am impressed.

And Sam, I'm with you, I have no problem with Miz and Daniel Bryan sharing the spotlight here. I hate to admit it, Coco, but you definitely made some valid points that made me reconsider DBD as a serious choice for Wrestler of the Year. I still think Miz deserves the solo recognition, but it was a solid debate.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I'm also glad the name DBD is sticking. That's what I'm going to take away from this.

 

[klunderbunker]

Counted all the written votes which is the only tiebreaker I can think of and what we use in the WZ Tournament (one vote per person so having 10 posts by one person for Bryan means one vote) and the winner by a score of 10 text votes to 9 is Miz.

Wrestler of the Year 2010: The Miz.

 

[Coco]

Any chance you'll go through the poll and eliminate any alts from the final totals?

 

[klunderbunker]

Nope. Don't care enough about it to do that.

 

[Coco]

In that case, Daniel Bryan for Disputed 2010 Wrestler of the Year.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Quite.