Correct The Award: PWI Most Hated Wrestler Of The Year

[The Brain]

After the most popular thread yesterday it should come as no surprise that today’s topic is the most hated wrestler of the year. You know the routine. Take a look at the list and tell me where you disagree. Keep in mind this is not necessarily who you hated most. This is who was most hated overall based on the general crowd reaction to a wrestler.

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

The list looks pretty good, but I’ll disagree with 1988. Andre The Giant is a reasonable choice, but I think Ted Dibiase would have been the better choice. If Andre was to win a most hated award it probably should have been in 1987. By the time 1988 rolled around it had already been a full year since his heel turn and while the hatred we had for him in 87 carried into 88 the shock of seeing him as a heel had worn off. Dibiase was a new heel who came in toward the end of 87 and immediately earned our hatred by flaunting his wealth everywhere he went. 1987 closed with Hulk Hogan turning down Dibiase’s offer to buy the world title. In 1988 Dibiase executed the plan to get the title off Hogan. He purchased the services of Andre. He came up with the twin referee scandal. Although Andre was the henchman Dibiase was the mastermind in finally getting the title off Hulk Hogan after a four year reign. Dibiase caused Hogan’s elimination from the WreslteMania IV tournament and moved on to the finals himself. Dibiase went on to feud with eventual tournament winner Randy Savage. After his feuds with Hogan and Savage died down, Dibiase closed the year by trying to purchase Hercules to be his slave. Throughout it all he was never shy about throwing his money around and claiming he was better than everyone because of his wealth. Andre broke our hearts in 1987, but by 1988 we were used to him as a heel and for a large part of the year he worked for Dibiase. To me it’s clear Ted Dibiase was the most hated wrestler of 1988.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

As you've already said Brain, 88 should've been DiBiase's but there's another one that was unjust: 2000.

Kurt Angle was indeed a hated wrestler. He was jeered by the audience, they couldn't stand him for the pompous twit he was. BUT there was someone who was just as if not MORE hated than him: Triple H.

Triple H came into the year, having just married Stephanie and beaten her father in a Street Fight, causing her to turn heel in the process. The stipulation of the Street Fight saw Triple H get a shot at the Big Show's WWF Title on Raw. He won. The crowd already hated him and things just got worse for them as he survived not one, but TWO wars with Mick Foley in a Street Fight & Hell in a Cell, retiring Foley in the process.

The Game had proven he was 'That Damn Good', and the crowd hated him for it. Triple H would then do something never before done; He Walked Out of WrestleMania, as a HEEL, with the WWF Championship. No one had ever done that and the crowd, who had expected The Rock to win the championship, were enraged.

Triple H would go back & forth with The Rock for a good few months with them trading the belt and of course with various surprise appearances along the way (HBK, Steve Austin & the Undertaker to name a few). Triple H also had an on again/of again feud with Chris Jericho which all started with the title change that never happened:

[YOUTUBE]lMFyeoVmqcg[/YOUTUBE]​

The crowd by this point were very much behind Jericho and a feud with wrestling’s most hated man made them cheer him even more.

Triple H would finish the year flung back into a programme between himself and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. Triple H was the #1 suspect in Austin's car accident at the Survivor Series the previous year, only it emerged that it was Rikishi who had been behind the wheel of the car (Remember Folks, 'He Did it for Da Rock'). BUT Triple H had payed Rikishi to do the deed and thus Austin's rage was focused on The Game.

It was a very eventful year for Triple H and one where he was hated by almost every single WWF fan around the world.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Let's talk 1993 shall we? Jerry Lawler the most hated? Noooooo bad call PWI. Even though this guy's my favorite wrestler, I'd have to say Vader won most hated for '93. After winning the WCW title a couple days after Starrcade 1992, he held all the way till Starrcade '93 (with the exception of a few days overseas) when he dropped the title to Ric Flair. In that one year, Vader went on a tear all over the world, not just WCW, including a few very nasty matches with the likes of Cactus Jack (culminating at Halloween Havoc '93 in a Texas Death Match).

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

I agree that Ted DiBiase should have won The Most Hated Wrestler of the Year award for 1988. My first instinct was to say Ric Flair due to his rivalry with Lex Luger and to a lesser degree Sting, but Sting was still too green for Flair (although they did have a wonderful match at the 1st Clash of the Champions which went down as one of the all-time classics) and Lex Luger always seemed to be on the losing end of the stick.

I was going to place Curt Henning as 1st runner-up due to his heel turn around the time he won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship. Henning was extremely beloved in the AWA as a team with Scott Hall (who would someday reunite with Henning in the nWo) as tag team champions, but it was watching Henning go from adored to hated which in my mind causes him to be 1st runner-up. Henning was a great heel, cocky and proud to be the AWA Champion and his matches with Nick Bockwinkel among others were ahead of their time.

But again, picking Ted was the way to go. I have no idea now why fans would have voted for Andre the Giant because he really didn't do much as a heel during 1988. Sure, he "won" the title but he also gave it over to Ted DiBiase, who, by today's standards, would have been deemed WWF Champion anyway because titles change hands so much it's difficult to keep track. Even still, DiBiase kept persuing the WWF title when Randy Savage was champion while Andre digressed to matches agains Jake Roberts & The Ultimate Warrior. Ted DiBiase stayed a formiable heel for any face WWF champion all the way through The Ultimate Warrior which was some two years later. So without a doubt, Ted had the longivity as a heel while Andre's heel turn was for someone to face Hulk Hogan would would have made it look like Hogan could have been beaten. Andre wasn't really a great heel anyway so it wasn't too believable.

Now, another Most Hated Award winner who shouldn't have won came in 1980 (yes, 1980) when Ole Anderson should have won. In fact, Ole wasn't even listed as a runner-up.

For those of you who don't remember 1980 or what it meant or wasn't even born, let me remind you real quick. There were two major heel turn angles in '80, one in the Georgia area and the other in the WWWF. In the WWWF, Larry Zbyszko was working as a relative newcomer being taught by the legendary Bruno Sammartino. Larry felt Bruno wasn't showing him enough respect and felt that Bruno's time was passing him by. Fed up, Bruno was attacked by Larry on a taped edition of WWWF television with a chair which set up the famed Shea Staduim match in August of that year where Sammartino won inside a steel (fence) cage. For that, Larry Zbyszko won Most Hated Wrestler of The Year.

Meanwhile down in Georgia, Dusty Rhodes was still waging war with Ivan Koloff and The Assassins and was seeking help from an unlikely source, Ole Anderson. Ole was doing broadcasting with Gordon Solie for Georgia Championship Wrestling when asked if he could help Dusty in a cage match featuring The Assassins with Ivan Koloff as special referee. Ole accepted even though previously Dusty and Ole had battled to hell and back themselves quite a few times.

Finally, the match was underway and Dusty took an incredible beating. He tags in Ole Anderson as Ivan and the Assassins back off a little bit. The crowd goes into a hush as they're waiting for Anderson to attack the Russian and his tag team until...Ole charges at Dusty Rhodes, kicking the crap out of him with Ivan Koloff and the Assassins aiding in the now four on one beat down.

This was replayed the next week with several wrestlers and even Gordon Solie speaking on the issue and was eventually deemed The Big Turn of 1980. THIS should have placed Ole Anderson at the top but instead...Larry Land won. Gimme a break. If you've never seen what happened I suggest you youtube it. It's what made wrestler so exciting. Larry just turned on an old Bruno, nothing exciting about that...

 

[legendkiller1979]

I want to talk first about King's case for Vader. After reading his post, I am convinced that the right man won the wrestler of the year. But there was really no reason to hate him unless you were a big cactus jack fan. His dominance made him someone I personally enjoyed. Jerry Lawler on the other hand was just irritating all year long and his attack on Bret Hart at king of the ring along with his performance at summerslam cemented his spot as the most hated.

I agree with everybody that says Ted Dibiase should have won in 1988 so there's no reason to make a case for that, although I still can't believe was the third runner up.
I'm going to go with Bob Backlund in 1994. He turned on Bret Hart late in the year and went on to win the WWF title. But that's it. He spent most of the year doing nothing.
So he made a heel turn, big deal. I don't know how anyone could have voted for him because I'm pretty sure the voting was done by the time survivor series took place. The guy that won the award was heel for about ten minutes when he won the award.
I think Owen Hart was the logical choice for the award. He was the biggest heel in the sport the entire year and was instrumental in Backlund winning the belt. I think most is probably the most undeserving winner in the history of the award.

 

[ThePh3nomonal1]

I pretty much agree with all but a few. I think some that others have mentioned were unjust, such as 93, 88 etc. But the one that aggravates me the most is how Randy Orton won in 2009.

Last I remember was that Randy was a heel getting mass face pops. If your getting face pops when your a heel your not doing your job right. 2009 should of went to CM Punk, he ended the most popular wrestler of 2009s career! He turned heel in a huge shocker and replayed the Montreal Screwjob against the Undertaker at Survivor Series. There is no doubt in my mind he was the most hated man in the WWE in 2009.

Oh well, the decision has been made. Hopefully he will get it this year.

 

[Megadeth]

I have got to go with 1999, Diamond Dallas Page. His heel turn that year was really not that memorable IMO, it really only lasted for like 6 months, and he spent a good chunk of his time as a heel in the mid card if I remember correctly. I think the award should have gone to The Undertaker. That was the year of the Ministry of Darkness, and later the Corporate Ministry. This year saw the Dead man take out Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF title, and joining forces with the McMahons. Plus it was that same year that saw him join forces with The Big Show in the "Unholy Alliance", winning the Tag titles twice, all as a heel. I think had he not gotten injured late in the year, missing the last couple of months of 99, he would have won it.

 

[jerishowholic]

i have to talk about 2004 now i know that triple h was on a role and everything especially with evolution going to the top but people were used to this sort of thing and the fact he won it the previous year, i think that it shouldve gone to JBL because jbl was "bradshaw" for so long and everyone was use to him being a crowd favorite badass, and then he turns on his best friend ron simmons changes his entire look won the wwe title beat all the top stars some of wich (most actually) in controversial way and the main objective was always "who will beat bradshaw?" hhh didnt win consistently was always feuding with hbk, even at the least however angle shouldve won faking his injury going at eddie joining paul heyman, i mean dont get me wrong i love the game and he is a great heel however i dont think '04 was his year

 

[pyrusane]

I think the person who should have won for 2000 was someone who wasn't even on the list of runners-up for that year. Most likely this is because he wasn't a wrestler, however he was an on-air personality, and since he did actually wrestle in a couple of matches he could technically have been considered a wrestler during the year. For everything he did to absolutely drive the nail into the coffin of WCW, and considering the fact that the hatred he created in 2000 still carries over to right now, 10 years later, I would have given the nod to none other than Vince Russo.

 

[The Brain]

As you've already said Brain, 88 should've been DiBiase's but there's another one that was unjust: 2000.

Kurt Angle was indeed a hated wrestler. He was jeered by the audience, they couldn't stand him for the pompous twit he was. BUT there was someone who was just as if not MORE hated than him: Triple H.

Triple H came into the year, having just married Stephanie and beaten her father in a Street Fight, causing her to turn heel in the process. The stipulation of the Street Fight saw Triple H get a shot at the Big Show's WWF Title on Raw. He won. The crowd already hated him and things just got worse for them as he survived not one, but TWO wars with Mick Foley in a Street Fight & Hell in a Cell, retiring Foley in the process.

The Game had proven he was 'That Damn Good', and the crowd hated him for it. Triple H would then do something never before done; He Walked Out of WrestleMania, as a HEEL, with the WWF Championship. No one had ever done that and the crowd, who had expected The Rock to win the championship, were enraged.

Triple H would go back & forth with The Rock for a good few months with them trading the belt and of course with various surprise appearances along the way (HBK, Steve Austin & the Undertaker to name a few). Triple H also had an on again/of again feud with Chris Jericho which all started with the title change that never happened:

[YOUTUBE]lMFyeoVmqcg[/YOUTUBE]​

The crowd by this point were very much behind Jericho and a feud with wrestling’s most hated man made them cheer him even more.

Triple H would finish the year flung back into a programme between himself and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin. Triple H was the #1 suspect in Austin's car accident at the Survivor Series the previous year, only it emerged that it was Rikishi who had been behind the wheel of the car (Remember Folks, 'He Did it for Da Rock'). BUT Triple H had payed Rikishi to do the deed and thus Austin's rage was focused on The Game.

It was a very eventful year for Triple H and one where he was hated by almost every single WWF fan around the world.

I could definitely see Triple H getting most hated in 2000. The problem was he feuded with the guy who won. HHH played the face in his feud with Angle and the crowd was very much behind him. Angle was despised for trying to move in on Stephanie and the fans backed HHH in his quest to destroy the homewrecker. HHH would go back to his heel ways soon enough, but it was the feud with Angle that kept him from being the most hated in 2000.

 

[Dyno Kid]

Larry Zbyszko winning in 1980 was clearly the right choice ! His turniing on Bruno shocked fans all up and down the East Coast and was the most profitable feud in the history of the WWF at that time and maybe in North American history !

Larry was a face who wasn't a newcomer as he'd been in the WWWF for about 6 years and was a former tag champion. He was now working as a singles wrestler with the story beng he was trained by Bruno. After a T.V. match one week he walked right past Bruno who wanted to interview him. The next week Larry did an interview in which he said if he wanted to be a bigger star he'd have to wrestle Bruno. Bruno turned him down and said he wouldn't wrestle Larry but eventually he gave in and agreed to a match on T.V.

During the match Larry was getting frustrated as Bruno seemed to be taking it easy on him including letting Larry out of a bear hug. He was also getting the better of Larry in the wrestling exchanges and when Larry fell out of the ring Bruno held the roes open for Larry to come back in. Larry kicked Bruno and attacked him with a chair shot and left Bruno laying in a pool of blood !

Fans were shocked as Larry turned on the biggest legend in WWWF history and it led to record crowds up and down the East Coast climaxing at Shea Stadium before almost 40,000 fans. To say it was no big deal is just silly and not true ! Larry became the most hated man in the sport !