Correct The Award: PWI Feud Of The Year

[The Brain]

This is the third thread in the PWI award series. This time we will focus on Feud of the Year. For those who haven’t seen the other threads, the idea is to correct an award. Take a look at the following list and tell me where the fans went wrong. Again, this is not to debate the credibility of PWI and I am aware the awards were based on fan balloting. Simply look at the list and tell me what you disagree with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PWI_Feud_of_the_Year

One that I disagree with is 2004. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit was a good feud, but I feel there was another that should have been feud of the year. Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle. The seeds for this feud were planted early in the year while both were still face. Angle seemingly took Eddie’s side in his feud with Chavo and encouraged him to face Chavo at the rumble. On the surface it seemed innocent enough, but Angle’s true motivation was to keep Eddie out of the rumble match as he saw Guerrero as a threat. Eventually Angle showed his true colors and turned heel. Angle would verbally assault Guerrero claiming that fans should look up to him for his integrity not Guerrero, a man who lies, cheats and steals. In the meantime Eddie won the WWE title and Angle was his challenger at WrestleMania.

[YOUTUBE]rgQRR9f1hwA[/YOUTUBE]

That’s a pretty good feud, but it was only the beginning. Angle was injured after mania but took on a brief role as Smackdown GM. During his time as GM Angle conspired to get the title of Guerrero and made a controversial ruling awarding JBL the title. After Angle returned to competition he picked up where he left off and took on Guerrero at SummerSlam. The feud continued into the fall where Angle and Guerrero captained opposing teams at Survivor Series.

The feud featured an Angle heel turn, a mania title match, a return match at SummerSlam, and continued into Survivor Series. That longevity and the personal nature of the feud makes this feud of the year for 2004 in my opinion.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Oh this is easy.......Triple H VS Randy Orton from last year.

Look, I'm a HUGE Triple H mark, but even I'll admit that the 2009 version of their feud was very disappointing. Their was such a huge build behind their Wrestlemania 25 match. It's probably one of the biggest storylines we'll ever see, but the match was a huge let down. I don't think the match was terrible, but for a Mania main event with such a big build, it just felt very underwhelming. I think this match should've been no holds barred, because everyone wanted to see these two tear each other part. Plus, Triple H VS Orton had been done a lot before, and they never had that great match.

Now CM Punk VS Jeff Hardy was one hell of a feud. This was something that could not have been scripted any better. You had the squeaky clean straight edge superstar going against the known drug user and screw up, Jeff Hardy. Punk cut some of his best promos in WWE during this feud, and feuding with Hardy helped Punk rise to the #1 spot as WWE's top heel during this time. I liked the match they had at The Bash, and the ending was unique, the match they had at Night Of Champions was good, the TLC match at Summerslam was even better, and the steel cage match on Smackdown was also good. This feud made the fans want to root for Hardy, because you wanted to see the mistaken prone guy triumph over mean drug and alcohol free bully.

CM Punk VS Jeff Hardy was epic. Triple H VS Randy Orton was just one huge let down.

 

[The Brain]

I agree 100% with Mitch. I only post one disagreement at a time to give others a chance, but this was going to be my next post. Punk turning heel for this feud was great. There's always something a little intriguing when the heel you're supposed to hate is telling the truth. You have to admit Punk was the one sending the right message compared to Hardy's lifestyle. A lot of fans seemed to agree with Punk. They just didn't like how he took it upon himself to shove his values down our throats. Hardy was flawed, but he admitted to his flaws and the fans respected that. Great feud and should have been feud of the year.

 

[WarrenIronman]

I'm gonna have to disagree with 2005. Matt Hardy vs Edge was a good fued. I just find Rey vs Eddie meant more. This was also a side to Eddie I didn't see before. Also their ladder match at summerslam was pretty damn awesome.

 

[nutt]

2005: Without a doubt, Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker should have won it. Orton lost to the Taker at WM21, then took a sabbatical for his shoulder. He returned as a Lottery pick to Smackdown, attacking Undertaker and setting up a re-match at Summerslam. Orton won the re-match at Summerslam with help of "Cowboy" Bob Orton. Undertaker vowed revenge and took on both Ortons at No Mercy in a casket match, with the Ortons coming out on top.

Here is where it gets tricky: a re-match was scheduled for the Survivor Series...a buried alive match (which we haven't seen now, going on seven years). The death of Eddie Guerrero ended any opportunity of a buried alive match (with Eddie's death fresh on the minds of WWE fans) and Orton was placed on the Team Smackdown roster to replace Eddie. The "final showdown" ended up being a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon.

This feud featured two matches at the big four (WrestleMania, Summerslam), two gimmick matches at other PPVs (No Mercy, Armageddon), and a confrontation at the Survivor Series.

 

[#hamler]

2005. Matt Hardy vs Edge? Really? I don't think was officially over as a great heel then. And Matt Hardy, well, he's Matt Hardy. The fued with Edge, Matt and Kane all blended together. First Matt fueded with Kane over Lita. Then Matt loses the war with Kane, Kane fueds with Edge then it Matt and Edge. According to the storyline, Matt was out of the fued. Lita never cheated on Matt, according to the storyline, she cheated on Kane. The whole "Lita is pregnant and the baby dying" storyline was terrible IMO.

To me, Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guererro deservs fued of the year. The series of matches started when Rey Rey beat Eddie at Wrestlemania. They were tag team champs and Eddie's jealousy got the best of him. This lead to Eddie's heel gimmick. He adopted the brain buster and seemed to be more focused. But eddie just couldn't get the job done. They had one of the best ladder matches at summerslam for the custody of Eddie's sperm known as Rey's son Domminick. These matches were some of the best I've seen from Rey and brought out the best in Eddie. THIS DESERVES 2005 match of the year.

Also, don't know that much about 1986, but Hogan vs Ordorff? Seems like the runner up, Dusty Rhodes vs Ric Flair should've won it. Just seemed like a better fued. I mean you don't hear too much about Ordorff/Hogan fued. Just my opinion.

 

[The Brain]

2005. Matt Hardy vs Edge? Really? I don't think was officially over as a great heel then. And Matt Hardy, well, he's Matt Hardy. The fued with Edge, Matt and Kane all blended together. First Matt fueded with Kane over Lita. Then Matt loses the war with Kane, Kane fueds with Edge then it Matt and Edge. According to the storyline, Matt was out of the fued. Lita never cheated on Matt, according to the storyline, she cheated on Kane. The whole "Lita is pregnant and the baby dying" storyline was terrible IMO.

To me, Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guererro deservs fued of the year. The series of matches started when Rey Rey beat Eddie at Wrestlemania. They were tag team champs and Eddie's jealousy got the best of him. This lead to Eddie's heel gimmick. He adopted the brain buster and seemed to be more focused. But eddie just couldn't get the job done. They had one of the best ladder matches at summerslam for the custody of Eddie's sperm known as Rey's son Domminick. These matches were some of the best I've seen from Rey and brought out the best in Eddie. THIS DESERVES 2005 match of the year.

Also, don't know that much about 1986, but Hogan vs Ordorff? Seems like the runner up, Dusty Rhodes vs Ric Flair should've won it. Just seemed like a better fued. I mean you don't hear too much about Ordorff/Hogan fued. Just my opinion.

I’ll agree with you about 2005, but not 1986. I should start by saying I’ve always been a WWF guy so while I try to remain objective my favoritism may get in the way from time to time. Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff was a huge feud in 1986. Over the years we have seen many guys turn against Hulk Hogan but Orndorff was the first to do so. It was a shocking betrayal. Their match in Toronto drew about 70,000 fans to Exhibition Stadium. Hogan spent the better part of the 80s defending his title against giants like Andre, Bundy, Studd, Kamala, etc., but despite toppling all of them Orndorff was considered a serious threat to the title. I could be wrong, but I thought I once read that this award was pretty much created because of this feud. Although it’s probably really close I think 1986 was right.

 

[Megadeth]

I have got to go with 1997. Macho Man vs DDP took the award, and while it was a good feud, there were so many bigger feuds that came out of 97. DDP vs Savage over time I think has really just been remembered as a small part of the WCW vs nWo feud, which WCW vs nWo was probably really the biggest feud of the year. Not to mention in the WWF at the time we had Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation vs Stone Cold, launching Steve Austin into a full fledged main eventer. And later that year it turned into Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels and the newly formed D-X, leading up to the Screwjob, one of the most real feuds in wrestling history. I think any of those would have been the better pick over DDP/Savage.

 

[Dum Dum Dudley]

I'll have to disagree with 2005 and argue that Batista vs. Triple H was the feud of the year for a number of reasons. Firstly, it had a really strong, solid build-up to it. I loved it. You had the young apprentice in Batista finally breaking free and trying to make a name for himself at the expense of his old teacher in HHH. HHH's mic work was really good throughout this feud and he really portrayed this patrionising heel character really well. I think this promo shows just how good the build-up was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g7Ae19Owmg&feature=related

I mean, think about it. Evolution as a stable had been around since 2003 so the feud had a really strong history. These two were, as HHH even said in the promo, like brothers. Like family. I think having the luxury of such a vivid history between the two really added some spice to this feud and was one of the reasons i loved it.

Secondly, they put on some good matches. I'm not trying to suggest they were mat classics but there were some brutal brawls between the two of them. The Wrestlemania match was solid and exciting and i thought the Backlash match was good too, but the main match i enjoyed was the absolutely brutal Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance. There was some truly disturbing stuff going on in that match. Choking with steel chains, usage of barbed wire, Hunter's trademark sledgehammer and a devastating spinebuster on the steel steps for the win. I think it was a really good blow-off match for the feud as it allowed Batista to let out all his frustration at being held back by HHH for so long and really cemented Batista as a main-event player.

Overall, i enjoyed the Guerrero/Mysterio feud too but i think Batista/HHH deserved to win; especially over Matt Hardy/Kane. While i am not denying Rey and Eddie put on some truly exciting matches, i just wasn't that into the feud. Call me strange but i am never a fan of 'Jerry Springer' style feuds such as this which involved paternity tests and what-not; i'm very much in the 'old-school' camp. I like a feud to have a basic premise such as 'whose the better man' and then build on it. I just felt the catalyst for the Mysterio/Guerrero feud being 'whose the daddy of Dominick' made the feud come across as quite cheesy and soap-opera-like. I'm not denying that the feud had some great matches, i just don't believe it had a good storyline going through it so i cast my vote for Batista vs. HHH.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

For once it won't be 2008. I'm picking 2002.

It was the first year of the Brand Split. Vince would take full control of the now WWE from Ric Flair and would hand the job of General Manager of Raw to Eric Bischoff and the GM role on SmackDown to Stephanie McMahon. These two would wage war in a bitter feud. Now while that was all good fun there was no real substance to it as a feud. It was always about a bidding war or in the case of the month of September, Publicity Stunts (Don't Get Me Started on the HLA Stuff).

My pick? Kurt Angle vs. Edge. This feud elevated Edge towards the Main Event, where he would have been a recurring fixture had it not been for a neck injury he sustained in 2003. This feud was significant for Angle as well. It gave birth to the infamous 'You Suck' chants Angle would receive whenever Medal was played and it also was the start of the Bald Eagle.

Both their matches & promos were entertaining and I truly loved what it did for of these men's careers.

 

[cbear47]

I'll have to disagree with 2005 and argue that Batista vs. Triple H was the feud of the year for a number of reasons. Firstly, it had a really strong, solid build-up to it. I loved it. You had the young apprentice in Batista finally breaking free and trying to make a name for himself at the expense of his old teacher in HHH. HHH's mic work was really good throughout this feud and he really portrayed this patrionising heel character really well. I think this promo shows just how good the build-up was.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g7Ae19Owmg&feature=related

I mean, think about it. Evolution as a stable had been around since 2003 so the feud had a really strong history. These two were, as HHH even said in the promo, like brothers. Like family. I think having the luxury of such a vivid history between the two really added some spice to this feud and was one of the reasons i loved it.

Secondly, they put on some good matches. I'm not trying to suggest they were mat classics but there were some brutal brawls between the two of them. The Wrestlemania match was solid and exciting and i thought the Backlash match was good too, but the main match i enjoyed was the absolutely brutal Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance. There was some truly disturbing stuff going on in that match. Choking with steel chains, usage of barbed wire, Hunter's trademark sledgehammer and a devastating spinebuster on the steel steps for the win. I think it was a really good blow-off match for the feud as it allowed Batista to let out all his frustration at being held back by HHH for so long and really cemented Batista as a main-event player.

Overall, i enjoyed the Guerrero/Mysterio feud too but i think Batista/HHH deserved to win; especially over Matt Hardy/Kane. While i am not denying Rey and Eddie put on some truly exciting matches, i just wasn't that into the feud. Call me strange but i am never a fan of 'Jerry Springer' style feuds such as this which involved paternity tests and what-not; i'm very much in the 'old-school' camp. I like a feud to have a basic premise such as 'whose the better man' and then build on it. I just felt the catalyst for the Mysterio/Guerrero feud being 'whose the daddy of Dominick' made the feud come across as quite cheesy and soap-opera-like. I'm not denying that the feud had some great matches, i just don't believe it had a good storyline going through it so i cast my vote for Batista vs. HHH.

Biggest problem with that is it involves Batista and Triple H. Hard to root for anything involving these guys at this point. Though you have some good points about it. I have to wonder though, how people figure in great matches vs. story; don't they work together? A sidebar, but an important one I believe,

2005. Matt Hardy vs Edge? Really? I don't think was officially over as a great heel then. And Matt Hardy, well, he's Matt Hardy. The fued with Edge, Matt and Kane all blended together. First Matt fueded with Kane over Lita. Then Matt loses the war with Kane, Kane fueds with Edge then it Matt and Edge. According to the storyline, Matt was out of the fued. Lita never cheated on Matt, according to the storyline, she cheated on Kane. The whole "Lita is pregnant and the baby dying" storyline was terrible IMO.

To me, Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guererro deservs fued of the year. The series of matches started when Rey Rey beat Eddie at Wrestlemania. They were tag team champs and Eddie's jealousy got the best of him. This lead to Eddie's heel gimmick. He adopted the brain buster and seemed to be more focused. But eddie just couldn't get the job done. They had one of the best ladder matches at summerslam for the custody of Eddie's sperm known as Rey's son Domminick. These matches were some of the best I've seen from Rey and brought out the best in Eddie. THIS DESERVES 2005 match of the year.

Also, don't know that much about 1986, but Hogan vs Ordorff? Seems like the runner up, Dusty Rhodes vs Ric Flair should've won it. Just seemed like a better fued. I mean you don't hear too much about Ordorff/Hogan fued. Just my opinion.

Brain already discussed this... Orndorff's turn was big. Heck, Wrestlecrap has a rewrite the book on what could have happened if the feud had kept going. It was a big moment. Flair vs. Dusty, however, has a "what if it didn't happen" story. That might be a factor, in a sense; people wanted to cheer Flair, but ended up booing him. And he was just that little more over than Dusty... in WWF, the scenario turned around.

They liked Orndorff, but they liked Hogan more. So, they sided with thir hero over the turncoat.

And, of course, one must never discount the disparity in exposure at the time. WWF was on its way to being a national power. NWA was a very popular, powerful regional, but not like WWF (MTV, etc.)

 

[Megadeth]

Another one I somehow overlooked earlier was 1992. The Moondogs vs Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett. To be honest, I am a little puzzled at how this ever won in the first place, considering this feud took place in the USWA. Now growing up in Louisville I was familiar with the USWA and watched it on tv regularly. I was always under the assumption that USWA was a pretty small company with limited exposer, and since the PWI awards are based on votes by the readers, I was shocked to see this won that year. I was kinda young, so I don't remember to much about this feud, but how they ever won out over Ric Flair vs Macho Man Randy Savage and their feud over the WWF title just baffles me.

 

[Venemous Viper]

While Kurt Angle vs Samoa Joe was a big feud in 2007, I think that you have to give the nod to Batista vs The Undertaker. They had some awesome and really meaningful matches with my favorite being at Wrestlemania 23. To this day it's still one of my favorite matches ever. Also, John Cena vs Randy Orton sould've been second on the list. That was an amazing and personal rivalry that unfortunately had to be cut short because of Cena's injury.

 

[Dum Dum Dudley]

Biggest problem with that is it involves Batista and Triple H. Hard to root for anything involving these guys at this point. Though you have some good points about it. I have to wonder though, how people figure in great matches vs. story; don't they work together? A sidebar, but an important one I believe.

I don't understand what you mean with this ambigious statement. Can they not draw? Are they not entertaining wrestlers? HHH is one of the top talents of the past decade and his ability to draw heel heat is immense. Sure, HHH and to some extent Batista were perhaps booked too strongly at times but this feud was really good and was just before the time Batista started being tagged as 'Botchtista' so his wrestling abilities were nto totally shit.

 

[misterb]

Gotta agree with 2009 - HHH vs. Orton was a huge letdown, while Punk vs. Hardy blew everything else away. But before that, I would definitely change 2004, but to a different feud winner than Angle vs. Guerrero - Foley vs. Orton. Great, shocking moments (walking away after being spit upon? losing the comeback match at WM 20?). Getting Orton over a huge star, setting the stage for what we have today. Beginning the Legend Killer gimmick (great until HHH and Hogan did their parts to kill it off). And the fact that Foley booked pretty much all of it is the clincher.

 

[El Rev sXe]

Oh this is easy.......Triple H VS Randy Orton from last year.

Look, I'm a HUGE Triple H mark, but even I'll admit that the 2009 version of their feud was very disappointing. Their was such a huge build behind their Wrestlemania 25 match. It's probably one of the biggest storylines we'll ever see, but the match was a huge let down. I don't think the match was terrible, but for a Mania main event with such a big build, it just felt very underwhelming. I think this match should've been no holds barred, because everyone wanted to see these two tear each other part. Plus, Triple H VS Orton had been done a lot before, and they never had that great match.

Now CM Punk VS Jeff Hardy was one hell of a feud. This was something that could not have been scripted any better. You had the squeaky clean straight edge superstar going against the known drug user and screw up, Jeff Hardy. Punk cut some of his best promos in WWE during this feud, and feuding with Hardy helped Punk rise to the #1 spot as WWE's top heel during this time. I liked the match they had at The Bash, and the ending was unique, the match they had at Night Of Champions was good, the TLC match at Summerslam was even better, and the steel cage match on Smackdown was also good. This feud made the fans want to root for Hardy, because you wanted to see the mistaken prone guy triumph over mean drug and alcohol free bully.

CM Punk VS Jeff Hardy was epic. Triple H VS Randy Orton was just one huge let down.

Obviously Mitch, you got it right sir. HHH vs RKO was a great feud, but there's two main reasons why the feud Punk/Hardy was better.

First one, cause we got to see the heel turn of CM Punk, witnessing his unbeliavable mic skills, going slowly but in a great way, a heel that could be in the nerve of the E's universe.

Second one, and probably most important, it was a screw-up against JEFF FREAKING HARDY! This guy was at the top of his game, and could be even bigger than Cena, but our little kid's hero was SCREWED big time by our dear straight edge savior. Thank you for that CM Punk!