Best Storyline of the Year

[Mr. TM]

Nominees:



Chris Jericho v. Rey Mysterio
Tommy Dreamer is going to retire
CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy set-up by Matt Hardy
The Streak v. Mr. Wrestlemania
John Bradshaw Layfield owns Shawn Michaels
Main Event Mafia continues
AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christopher Daniels


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Remember: This is in the Non-Spam Section

 

[Mr. TM]

Shit, blown spots, lame endings, and one decent one, and one hell of a good one. The good one was the wrestling clinic by Jericho and Mysterio. The great one was CM Punk, the man of no demons versus Jeff Hardy who has suffered greatly from drug use. The angle cut deep, it isolated fans, it created a wave of smark sXe posters to sign up to the forum. Rarely do angles between wrestlers get as dimensional as this feud reached.

 

[Blue Chipper]

I'm probably going to get bashed for this, but I'm going with the JBL/HBK storyline. I thought it was tremendously well done. Shawn Micheals certainly played his "emotionless" role to a tea, and JBL played his annoying, demanding heel gimmick well too. I felt the story in this, and though it got somewhat repetitive, I thought it played out very well. The story was pretty intense, interesting, and entertaining. This is why people associate "soap opera" with pro-wrestling. That wasn't a knock.

 

[BooCocky]

Actually, i also enjoyed the JBL/HBK storyline but I do not believe that is story of the year. The Jericho story was done exceptionally well. The whole point was to pretty much embarrass Mysterio by unmasking him. It's basically against Mexican wrestling for being unmasked. Most promo's were good and both roles were filled extremely well. I also thought Mysterio did a good job at keeping Jericho relevant. Before that feud I was fed up with Jericho. He had some pretty shit feuds and matches were pretty shit. Not only did Rey elevate his level of play, he made Jericho relevant again. Plus the whole feud was top notch. Therefore it gets my vote. If you could vote twice I would go for Punk and Hardy. It was great from top the bottom...

 

[codog99]

I voted for JBL owns HBK. I think that what a lot of storylines lack is emotion. If there isn't enough of it, you can't really get the attention of the fans. That's why I loved HBK vs. Jericho last year. It brought out real human emotion in "fake" wrestlers, which really got the fans going. You really felt sorry for HBK and a lot of people could relate because of the economy being bad. Classic rich guy owns poor guy. The final superkick and hugging his wife was the topper. Well done by both men.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I voted for "The Streak v. Mr. Wrestlemania". Taker's storylines for Wrestlemania have always involved the undefeated streak lately, but the way he and HBK kept trying to outdo the other during the buildup was great. Although most of us "knew" that Taker would win, this storyline made us think that HBK had a chance, and few of Taker's opponents have been able to do that. This was the best storyline of 2009 because it was highly entertaining from beginning to end, and it will likely be one we will still be talking about years from now.

 

[PEP3]

My vote goes to CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy. The juxtaposition of two polar opposites -- one a legitimate "straight edge" type and the other an equally renowned drug addict plagued with personal demons -- made the angle feel much more "real" than most angles do. It played to the fact that people on the internet, especially, are well aware of all of Hardy's trials and tribulations and it perfectly positioned Punk as a classic heel. I feel this storyline was perfectly executed.

Other angles like JBL owning HBK, which I felt painted HBK in something of a bad light AND played fans for something of a fool (how bad could finances be for HBK, who's been gainfully employed by WWE for nearly 20 years?!), and Jericho trying to unmask Mysterio (who just happened to wrestle unmasked in WCW for quite a while, making the unmasking seem like a moot point) just didn't do it for me. That said, they still got me more interested than the Main Event Mafia, which I think was actually a pretty flawed storyline.

 

[Uncle Sam]

We all love a bit of a worked shoot, don't we? I suppose it's because most actual shoots are done by wrestlers in their forties and fifties that never really made it big, have nothing interesting to say and just want to bitch about the guy that stabbed them in a parking lot and how all the steroids have left their penis a shrunken husk of its former self.

A worked shoot, on the other hand, can be genuinely interesting. The company allowing - nay, telling - one wrestler to talk about genuine events that occurred in another wrestler's life. The worked shoot was a bit meh between the two Hardys but, as has been said, worked great between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy.

When is there a better opportunity for a shoot between the heel straightedge champion and his face counterpart, Meth Hardy? Never. There is no better storyline between the two and it more than lived up to the hype. Watching Jeff Hardy's fans - a legion of xfearbefores, I imagine - rally behind their former (?) drug addict hero was... interesting. Punk being the bad guy here was difficult to do but they pulled it off. It was all supported by some great matches and some awesome promos.

The Streak vs. Mr. WrestleMania was, just like the match, underwhelming. They went through the paces, Undertaker fucked up a promo or two, Michaels dressed up in white. News at 11.

 

[gd]

Chris Jericho v. Rey Mysterio

This may have produced the best matches, but there wasn't much to the actual storyline aside from trying to take Rey's mask. Never really clicked for me.

Tommy Dreamer is going to retire

Dreamer is complete shit. Look where his big title win has led him, nowhere at all.

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy

Definetly my #2 choice. CM Punk was just gold here and the whole feud was freakin' awesome. Dressing up like Jeff Hardy was an especially cool moment and the Hardy arrest a few weeks after was just icing on the cake.

Jeff Hardy set-up by Matt Hardy

This one had some potential, but the WWE really dropped the ball as it was never explained clearly at all and Matt had about 6 face/heel turns directly after it.

The Streak v. Mr. Wrestlemania

Wasn't much thought to this "storyline." HBK and Taker are both good, Taker has a streak. Doesn't interest me one bit.

John Bradshaw Layfield owns Shawn Michaels

My pick for SOTY. Incredible promo work by each man, JBL hitting a woman, potential slavery, and much, much more. This was the most interesting storyline of the whole year for me as it kept you guessing the whole time as to where it was going. Was HBK going to face JBL at WM? Would it be for the title? Were they going to end it sooner? Is this the end of HBK's career?

It also got the crowd really into it. Everytime JBL started beating HBK everyone in the building was going nuts and cheering for a superkick. When it finally happened, it was just epic. The ending of the feud was a little anticlimactic, but that can be forgiven as the rest of it was just excellent.

Main Event Mafia continues

Meh, this was pretty big, but also grossly mishandled/

AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Christopher Daniels

Not really a storyline, mostly just about the match.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I had to vote for the Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels. For one thing, the set-up for this match was excellent, with two established veterans and future hall of famers cutting great promos leading up to the actual match.

Combine this with the fact that the match itself did not disappoint. Usually matches with this much build-up and hype invariably fall short, but this one did not by any means whatsoever.

Leading up to this match, I truly had no idea who was going to win the match, and in the otherwise very predictable world of the WWE, that's quite an accomplishment. HBK is held in such high regard, and has his nose so far up the asses of the WWE brass, and plus has an excellent Wrestlemania track record, so I felt a victory for him was quite likely. Let's face it, if anyone ever ends the streak, it won't be just anyone, and someone of HBK's status could have easily been the one to do it.

But "the streak" itself is legendary, and I still don't believe it will end, nor should it, and the Undertaker will retire whatever -0 at Wrestlemanias. So entering the match, the result to me was unpredictable, and this unpredictability was maintained throughout the match, with several near-falls for either superstar.

This type of lead-up, this quality of match, with combatants of this calibre, with this type of unpredictability in the world of the WWE nowadays, easily the best match and the best storyline of the year. Easily.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As much as I enjoyed the build up of HBK/Taker for WM, I've ultimately got to go with the CM Punk and Jeff Hardy storyline.

During this year, both of these guys elevated their careers and I think their feud with one another is a huge reason why. CM Punk comes across as this saintly perigon of self-discipline while painting Jeff Hardy as a hopeless drug addict whose addictions have been the cause of all the unhappiness and setbacks in his life. One reason why it was so good was because there was some legitimate truth going on I think. Whether anyone likes Jeff Hardy or not, his lifestyle and some of the choices he's made have gotten him into the situation he's in now and has almost cost him his career at various points.

CM Punk's militant straight edge character might well be the truth as well for all I know. While there are straight edge followers that are perfectly good and easy people to get along with, there are also some that are very much the way Punk potrays himself as this arrogant, self-righteous man that believes he's superior to anyone that doesn't believe what he does. It's just a classic scenario.

 

[bigd22]

Not only do I think this is Match of the Year but the Promos that HBK did were great. His fued with Jericho was great because the promos were great and the matches. He doesnt get to do great promos with DX but the ones before Wrestlemania and the graveyard was great.

 

[AllHailJericho]

I loved the CM Punk and Jeff Hardy storyline. It was ironic how the guy that did no drugs was the bad guy, but the guy that does do drugs is the good guy. These 2 had the 2nd best match of the year (behind HBK and Taker) at Summerslam, CM was gold on the mic, Jeff elevated his mic skills because of it, and CM dressing as Jeff just poured salt into the wounds of all of Jeff's fans. Jeff was lucky that this storyline was his last during his 2nd run.

 

[FromTheSouth]

I think everyone was so quick to shit on the Mafia, that they never watched how well it played out. In all honesty, the Mafia was the best wrestling had to offer this year. It got AJ, Matt Morgan, and Hernandez over as the top faces in the company. It made Beer Money the best tag team in the world right now, and it made Steiner, Nash, and Booker relevant in the wrestling world again.

They came in, and instantly, everyone called it a rip off of every other storyline since 1997, but you know what? It ended right and didn't last too long. I give TNA kudos for how well they pulled it off, and it got my vote for storyline of the year.

 

[D-Man]

CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy should run away with this one. The WWE was brilliant to put CM Punk in a main event storyline, utilizing Punk's masterful gimmick of the Straight-Edge Champion to counteract Jeff Hardy's real-life drug history and problems. This feud extremely improved the work ethic of both superstars, and CM Punk's microphone work alone will be remembered for years to come. This feud truly made CM Punk and gave Jeff Hardy a proper exit. It was a career opener and another's closure that occurred during one feud... that doesn't happen very often.

 

[RVDgurl]

Since we're looking strictly at WWE and TNA storylines, then it has to be CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy- hands down, no contest. If there were ever a fued meant to be, it would be this one. Real life lent every bit of fuel for this fire. The straight edge guy vs. Mr. rehab- except the druggie was the good guy and the straight edge guy was the heel. That made it even more interesting and just plain fun to watch it unfold.

 

[Tastycles]

The feud between Hardy and Punk was probably the most obvious storyline in wrestling history, but sometimes its the simplistic stuff that works best, and that was the case here. Never had either man performed at the level that they did and the fact that it had such a decisive end gives it that added edge that most storylines can't ever muster. A great feud, played out well.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

When the Mafia was first created, I thought it wouldn't last as long as it did and they would always go over the TNA guys. This storyline did get AJ, Morgan, Hernandez, and Beer Money and the Mafia didn't really dominate as much as I thought they would. This storyline did more for more people than any other one so for that I will have to go with MEM for storyline of the year.

 

[Ferbian]

imo: the triple H and randy orton storyline before wrestlemania was awesome.. because it was around the time that i got into wrestling (thanks to a friend) and this storyline really got me hooked, me at that point being an obvious mark, i believed that orton was really this son of a bitch and triple H was the true champion of the world, also this storyline is the reason why i place triple H as my favourite superstar.