The 2009 Slammy Awards thread (ALL SLAMMY-RELATED DISCUSSION IN HERE)

[Ambiguous Turd]

So this Monday, the WWE Slammy Awards are scheduled to air on the 3 Hour edition of Raw, and thus far we have absolute diddly squat on the awards being given out, the nominees, or anything.

The WWE Slammy Awards, if used properly, is a tremendous opportunity to get allow the audience to see their favorite Superstars in a different type of an environment. For newer fans, WWE actually used to make actual separate events out of the Slammys. The Slammy Awards were hyped weeks in advance, tickets were sold, the Awards to be given out were made public, and the nominees were named.

When the event came around, all the WWE Superstars were dressed up in tuxes along with the commentators ... and they were all assigned and grouped in tables in the Hall ... with faces sitting together, heels sitting together, and factions placed together.

WWE put together videos for each of the contestants for each category, to showcase some of their highlights.

The point was that people generally like seeing the WWE Superstars out of their element. All of this leads to character development and is just one more way for the talent to make that much needed connection with the audience. And the fact that it is done in a uniquely different environment away from the wrestling arena, made it all the more intriguing.

Once again, another year goes by where the WWE blows this opportunity away, to maximize their potential with the event. Like I said, here you have Raw coming up this Monday which is supposed to feature the Slammy's .... and the Last Minute, Burn the Midnight Oil, Unorganized WWE Creative team doesn't even know what Awards they are even going to give away, yet.

We know they are going to do "Superstar of the Year", "Match of the Year", and "Best Diva" from the teaser. That's pretty much it, as none of us could have guessed. Why would anyone even care about the event at this point, if it is so painfully obvious that the WWE could care less about it either?

I'd like to hear your position on the Slammy Awards.

Should they even be done at all? Where should they be held- the arena or a separate venue like a Party Hall? Do you see advantages to doing it out of the arena as opposed to doing it at a Raw taping?

If you feel they should be done, what are your views on WWE's obvious lack of organization and preparation for the "event"?

What types of awards would you like to see covered?

 

[Da Prophet]

I think that they should keep the Slammys but get rid of the stupid ones. It's wrestling awards not best music performance, or best WWE online exclusive. Just have match of the year, superstar of the year, tag team of the year, extreme moment of the year. Stuff like that. People don't care if truth can rap and Horny can't. It should just be plain wrestling, nothing stupid. They should still have it in the arena like last year but give it some hype. Have superstar cut promo's like jericho did. If they did promo's on how much they wanted to be superstar of the year than it would be great. Not too long of course. Gotta keep wrestling in the show.

Also cut down on the ads in special show like this,kind of like the draft.

That just me!

 

[healyz84]

I like that they have the slammy's, as I think that its important to reward the superstars, the matches, and the moments of the year. Although the winners are creatively chosen, they still have some importance.

But like you said, they really have dropped the ball on it. I would love to know the categories, I would really love to know who or what is nominated. This would also help create fan interaction, as the wwe website could take advantage of this with some interactive stuff, possible contests in picking the winners.

For the slammy's itself, I would love to see it as a separate event, with the tux's and all the glamour. But at least this year they are going to have a good, oscar caliber host, so that should add something to the show.

I just hope they use this slammy show as a way to create some new, fresh stories and battles. Like jealousy over not being the superstar of the year and the like.

 

[ascott1984]

I couldn't agree more. I use to love watching the slammy awards, they had a different feel about them much like the Hall of Fame does now. The fact that this once special night is reduced to nothing more than a "rushed TV filler" is sad.

 

[jazzua]

Wait for it....I agree. Wow, that's the first LS. Anywho, I think you are spot on here. For one, why even have the event if you aren't going to advertise it, make it seem as though it's an important event, and take advantage of it. My favorite thing about Owen Hart's career is him toting around those slammys. I know, he did more important things, but to me, he was never more entertaining. That's a silly example, but you can definately use this award show in a positive, or negative way.

I kind of like it being a seperate event. However, if they did it correctly they could do it in an arena. It's just that it is done as another episode of Raw, oh, with some strange awards given away here and there. Mostly for stuff that doesn't make sense. Why not stick to the basics. I think they should seperate and make a Wrestler of the year and a Performer of the year. One, obviously the wrestler, for the person who accomplished the most during the ring in the ring. Performer for more of an entertaining aspect. Say, this Randy Orton wins wrestler of the year, Kofi or Bourne win performer, or whatever you like. Also, match of the year,breakout of the year, rookie of the year, diva of the year and I wouldn't mind seeing an actual heel of the year or whatever name you would like it to have. Something tells me if given to the right person that could be something that could be ran with.

But most importantly, I think it's important that the fans have a vote in this as well. I do, though, think that it needs to maybe not be 100% in the fans hands. Last year, Jericho was the right choice. He never would have gotten it if the fans had the whole say. But, to really make it somewhat special, give the fans a chance to vote for either the categories, or for certain categories. That way, people have a reason to actually tune in.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

I am in complete agreeance here Sidious. The WWE are using the Slammy's as an opportunity to get cheap ratings for viewers to watch RAW, despite the fact they haven't even hyped them as much as they should. They are also killing two birds with one stone by integrating RAW/Slammy Awards on the one night to save the trouble of organising two separate events.

The Hall of Fame and how it is presented is something people enjoy enough to actually order it on the television or pay to see and sit live in the actual award presentations. The E should use the HoF as their mould for the Slammy's, turning it into a respectable event where people will actually care about the nominations than just a random night on RAW.

 

[thetylertank]

I do think that they should continue to do this, but definately not like they did last year. I think they should hold it in a separate party hall venue, like you said, to show another side of wrestling. Make it something special.

WWE honestly probably even decided who's gonna win at TLC yet much less whos gonna win the Slammy Awards! They need to plan better. ALOT better!

 

[Baximus]

The Slammys are a wasted opportunity nearly every year. The only superstars who have even made use of them in recent years was Y2J for like 3 months last year and Miz/Morrisson toting around their awards to every show.

Which was absolutely awesome. That's old school heel stuff that just doesn't get a lot of play anymore and that's a shame.

The slammys could be an awesome opportunity to give these guys more character development and make fans care more.

Hell, if Vince was smart he could have put them in Superstars' time slot for a week and then pushed it against TNA. But he's not, he's just old and senile and that's why wrestling hasn't been great for a long time.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Great thread Sidious. Here are my thoughts on each question.

Should they even be done at all? Where should they be held- the arena or a separate venue like a Party Hall? Do you see advantages to doing it out of the arena as opposed to doing it at a Raw taping?

This is a good idea that SHOULD remain a tradition in the future.... but they need to advertise it more! It is better off being at a Raw taping because then they can turn it into a 3 hour special and/or one of those Raw's where the Smackdown roster is featured as well. That would make more money as opposed to having it at a Party Hall because fewer fans would be willing to pay for that when they could see it at a Raw taping.

If you feel they should be done, what are your views on WWE's obvious lack of organization and preparation for the "event"?

I think that the Slammy awards would have the potential to be one of the highest rated Raw's of the year.... but like others have pointed out, WWE has barely mentioned anything other than the fact that the Slammy awards are coming. Ok, big deal. Why should the fans care? We have no idea what the nominees are, or what most of the awards are yet.

If they advertised it as much as the draft or all the PPV's then it would have enormous potential as a sellout and a money maker because fans could see if their favorite wrestlers win the awards they get nominated for.

What types of awards would you like to see covered?

I'd like to see them do basically all of the polls that we have available to vote on in the "2009 wrestling awards section" of our forum. Those were all great polls and the vast majority would be very interesting to see in the form of Slammy awards because of the potential for great nominations and interesting promos by the winners.

WWE hasn't quite blown it yet with this year's Slammys.... but it could have been HUGE if they had advertised it better and revealed all of the nominations a week ahead of time because many fans would be so curious as to who wins and more will tune in.

 

[thepalaceprince]

I would love 2 see them do an awards ceremony at a dinner hall with tuxes and all that. It would be different but it would be a cool chance to see a character in a more personal setting. It could also stil be an oppurtunity for fueds to progress or develope as well as fights break out. I would love to see jericho give cena a codebreaker throught a table because he lost superstar of the year or a chance for the miz to tell us that his slammy is just more proof of how awesome he is. I think there is plenty of potential for a great event in the slammys

 

[jazzua]

I would love 2 see them do an awards ceremony at a dinner hall with tuxes and all that. It would be different but it would be a cool chance to see a character in a more personal setting. It could also stil be an oppurtunity for fueds to progress or develope as well as fights break out. I would love to see jericho give cena a codebreaker throught a table because he lost superstar of the year or a chance for the miz to tell us that his slammy is just more proof of how awesome he is. I think there is plenty of potential for a great event in the slammys

You thought of something I hadn't. I know in the past years they used the slammys in kayfabe and pushed storylines with it. Major one being Hart/HBK battling it out over certain slammy categories. But, I really like the idea of them in a banquet hall, dressed to the nines, and then having a fight break out over who won or lost. However, a code breaker through a table? Not sure how that makes the code breaker look any worse for Jerichos opponent?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Sidious, I must agree with you 100%. This is such a blown opportunity by the WWE. If this was built up the right way, it would be a great way to grab ratings, and get wrestling fans into it. Just think about, your showcasing your best wresltlers, and having a what appears to be a legit award show. If they would've announced the nominees weeks prior to this Monday, think of the anticipation with in the arena. Signs, people chanting the name of the their favorite wrestler that they want to win, and the antcipation before each winner is announced.

I think to do this the right way, WWE should have no wrestling take place what so ever on the show. It will make it look like an actuall award show. All the divas, who aren't champions should be doing interviews or walking the award announcers to the podium. Now of course there would be a promo thrown in every now and then, to hype up what ever feud might be going on at the time, and maybe one or two brawls could break out. Then the Slammys would be an actuall award show.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I would like to be a separate event on USA like on a Saturday night. Back in the mid 90's, it was fun to see the wrestlers goofing around in an awards environment, throwing kayfabe out the window. It was goofy at first, but it really began to shine during the attitude era. I still remember what a big deal it was to be a 2 time slammy award winner. Owen Hart wore it on his tights and brought them to the ring for every match.

We did see Miz and Morrison bring there awards down last year, but I don't think anyone even knew what the Slammy's were or what award they were given. I do remember Sunny, Sable, and Terri Runnels coming out in their small bikinis. I think it was for a best buns award or something. Shawn Michaels was even up for that award. Ewww.

WWE needs to have an actual award ceremony like that with someone like The Fink or Mean Gene hosting the show. They actually had comedy bits and everything years ago. Now its like: this is the category, and here is your award. Raw should have the first hour be the awards ceremony, and the last 2 hours the show. I guarantee we will see Dennis Miller giving out an award on Raw, while the winner is walking to the ring for their match.

Good chances are we will see some pec flexing by Masters and tone deaf singing by Jillian. Probably DX will give out the awards while Hornswoggle bits the shins of the winners. Fantastic.

 

[johnbragg]

Hold it at a banquet hall, like a company's year-end party.

Don't sell tickets, but have the entire WWE payroll there in the background. That's enough people to be a solid crowd without being an event audience. Find the room Comedy Central uses for the Friar's Club roasts for the dimensions, decor, etc.

Don't rigorously separate heels and faces, but don't have rivals sitting near each other and being chummy. If Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Cody Rhodes and Dibiase Jr. are sitting at the same table it shouldn't create any real friction, so that's fine. Don't put Kofi or Cena or a McMahon family member at the table with Legacy, though.

LEt's go to the Pro WRestling Illustrated list of awards, and go yes-or-no on each.

# Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)--Yes
# Tag Team of the Year (since 1972)--Yes
# Match of the Year (since 1972)--Yes
# Feud of the Year (since 1986)--Yes
# Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)--I'd say no.
# Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)--I'd say no.

These awards would only expose the business in a bad way. No one would get any benefit out of winning the award.

# Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (since 1978)
This would be a good one, in my opinion. It should mean Improved in terms of wins and losses, and in position on the card. This year it would be Seamus in a runaway--from Florida to No. 1 contender.

# Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (since 1972)
This one seems a little dated. Nowadays, a wrestler overcoming a broken freakin' neck to win a world title doesn't say "Courage and perseverance", it says "painkiller addiction pending."

# Rookie of the Year (since 1972)
Definitely.

# Stanley Weston Award (since 1981)--Lifetime achievement.
Maybe. Name it after Buddy Rogers, though, or whoever the first WWWF champion was.

# Comeback of the Year (since 1992)
Mixed feelings. See Most Inspirational Wrestler.

# Woman of the Year (since 1999)--Yes
# Manager of the Year (1972 to 1999)
There are no managers, so I guess not.

# Girl Wrestler of the Year (1972 to 1976)--No
# Midget Wrestler of the Year (1972 to 1976)--No. Screw you, Hornswoggle.
# Announcer of the Year (1977)--No. It would be ridiculous to rotate it between the half-dozen or so WWE announcers. PWI only gave it one year, and JR came in second to Gordon Solie. Would we really need JR to have won the award 25 times in 30 years?


So my ballot has 7 award categories.
Superstar, Diva, Tag Team, Match, Feud, Most Improved, and Rookie of the Year

I'd pre-tape it, and run it in slices during a 3-hour Raw broadcast. Start taping Raw at 8pm, show an award clip, show a match, clip, match, match, clip, etc. until you have a 3-hour show.

 

[The Ultimate]

Great thread. Now, my opinion is a little bit different from everybody else's here. I think the Slammy's are a complete waste of time. I don't care about kayfabe awards being given to Superstars that don't truly deserve it. I mean, why did WWE have to specifically remember to do them this year? Couldn't they forget this year? I mean, I would have much rather seen King of the Ring, or Saturday Night live Main Event, but they skipped out on those for this year, which made me really angry at that.
But if they had done it the old school way like Sidious had said, then I would have been interested in watching. I think the best thing for them to do right now is not give away silly, nonsense awards for no reason. Just Superstar, Diva, Match, Extreme Moment, and maybe even tag team and finisher of the year. Which is probably the reason why the event wasn't so hyped, because the there won't be that many awards as before, and it won't be as big of an event as Slammys of past years....

 

[InterestingDrug]

The Slammys are just a waste of time. Filler so to speak. It's pointless to have an "awards" show if they are scripted. It could be good for setting up storylines, but if anyone is actually wasting their time debating who the winners should be.. I feel sorry for them.

Here are my additions to the catagories. Since they typically are ridiculous, mine are just as ridiculous:

Best Wasted Use of Talent.. of the Year
Hornswaggle Opponent of the Year
Comedy Sketch of the Year
Best Superstar Buried by HHH of the Year
Worst DX Promoted Item of the Year
Best Attempt at fixing HBK's Crazy Eye of the Year

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

This will be the One-Stop-Shop, so to speak, for all posts on the 2009 Slammy Awards.

Talk about the Awards themselves, which nominee should win what award, discuss the Winners of the Actual Awards, etc. If you wish to dispute the winner of something and feel someone else should have won, talk about that, as well.

This is your 2009 Slammy Award thread! Happy posting.


KEEP ALL DISCUSSIONS ON-TOPIC IN ONLY DISCUSSING THE SLAMMY AWARD CATEGORIES THEMSELVES, AND THE NOMINEES/WINNERS/LOSERS.

 

[The Doctor]

I'm looking forward to seeing the Superstar of the Year because The tourney should be a very interesting thing to watch. And if I'm not mistaken, a new idea. It's funny that we in the IWC have been wanting more tournaments, and now they're giving us one. It almost makes me want to believe that the WWE is really listening to us.

I'm hoping for a Punk win, but really I don't mind who gets the Slammy. Hopefully the Punk/Cena match will be as good as their last.

 

[Midnight]

Bob Barker was one of the worst hosts I've ever seen. I found only one of the "Price is Raw" segments not terrible. I'm guessing that the guy Kodiak was right though and he was the only one who was available but that's a shame. Jesse Ventura was an awesome host.

 

[Mister Redleg]

What was the point of having Batista come out in a bright pink shirt and talk about getting the screwjob Slammy or something? was that supposed to be like Kanye West? i really am beginning to get tired of the shit that Vince McMahon is giving us right about now.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

Jesus, they just turned Batista into Kanye West! Horrible, but it does fit the gimmick. So, I guess I can't fault WWE for that. As far as Bob Barker, the old man deserved it. The show had a much better feel to it than most of the other weeks the WWE had a guest host. Plus, we didn't have to sit through Hornswoggle vs. Chavo that week. The only other person who should have been nominated and possibly won was Snoop Dogg. He was a great guest host as far as vignettes and presence was concerned. Man, I wonder if these awards are rigged? Life is over.

 

[Cubed]

What was the point of having Batista come out in a bright pink shirt and talk about getting the screwjob Slammy or something? was that supposed to be like Kanye West? i really am beginning to get tired of the shit that Vince McMahon is giving us right about now.

I didn't even consider the idea of Kanye, but now that you mention it you're probably right on the money. This just made Batista look even more like a douche bag coming out with a bright pink shirt and his collar popped. Raw tonight has been absolute garbage for the most part.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Cena winning Superstar of the year wasn't really a surprise. I didn't think his whole "I'm going to go undefeated speech" was going to go down the drain that quickly. Him and Orton didn't put on a bad match either. I was actually getting into it towards the end.

Maria Wins Diva Of The Year?????? Um, what has she done worth remembering this year? She took a hiatus to shoot for The Apprentice, and her boyfriend/girlfriend story line with Dolph was boring. She hasn't won any matches that meant something, and has held no titles. What was the point of this? The only reason I can think of is she's hot, and a very likeable character.

Bret Hart- When Denis Miller threw out The Hitman's name, Vince's reaction was priceless. He dropped the infamous,"Bret screwed Bret" line, and looked legitimatley pissed off. Whether Bret ever comes back to WWE or not, it's always fun to see how the crowd reacts when his name is mentioned.

 

[Kenny Powers]

Well, I felt like Jodie Foster in The Accused tonight. I felt violated in more ways then one. The show was worst then cancer. Dennis Miller was the worst host of all time to host the Slammys, let alone Raw. As far as the categories go, I'll break each one down.

Tag Team of the Year: Winner: JeriShow There really wasn't any competition besides DX. I thought the WWE Universe was in charge of picking the winners on WWE.com. Last night DX was way ahead in the polls. So much for fair voting, but this was one of only a few categories I agreed with.

Breakout Superstar of the Year: Winner: Sheamus This was pretty much a given. It's a good thing too since this was the only chance we got to hear Sheamus speak tonight which was a total of 2-3 sentences. Kane even spoke more when he won the WWE championship for one night.

Shocker of the Year: Winner: CM Punk retires Jeff Hardy This really wasn't a shocker to the IWC, but I'm glad CM Punk actually got a chance to shine before he jobbed another match again.

Match of the Year: Winner: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker W25 This was the obvious choice since there really wasn't any other matches in that category to compete. I guess Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk at Summerslam wasn't good enough to be in this category. Ah well, at least we get to look forward to Michaels vs. Undertaker at WM26 part 2!

Guest Host of The Year: Winner: Bob Barker I really have no idea why Bob won, and neither do the fans in the audience. The polls and the majority of the fans thought Shaq was the best guest, but I guess Bob was the only one that could make a video. They are all awful to begin with. The concept has been more miss then hit Vince, unless you have Ventura behind the wheel. It's sad that Miller had to mention Bret Hart's name just to get a reaction.

Extreme Moment of the Year: Winner: Jeff Hardy's dive This was pretty much the only extreme thing that has happen in WWE. Nothing special.

Diva of the Year: Winner: Maria Wasn't Maria the Diva of the Year last year? and what has she done this year or last year to achieve anything? The polls favored Mickie and even Jillian who won the diva's title for 10 seconds would of been a better choice than Maria. I think even she was shocked it was her. Then again, this is a fake awards show.

Oh My Moment of the Year:Winner: Michael Cole throws up after drinking too much I don't even remember this happening, but I glad I didn't see it. So Michael Cole wins a fake award for pretending to throw up. Awesome. I preferred the Oh My God moment when Edge and Foley went through flaming tables, but Cole throwing up is cool..

Superstar of the Year: Winner: John Cena Well, it looks like WWE Universe were silenced again, since Undertaker was ahead in the polls on WWE.com. It doesn't really matter, because Cena was the obvious choice anyhow. I would have preferred to see Orton as the winner, but again this is a fake awards show.

Honestly this could of have been a separate event like the HOF, but after seeing what transpired tonight. I don't want to see a Slammy Awards show ever again. There wasn't any category that meant anything or helped the talent. At least the new WWE Champion was able to cut a promo. This show was awful, and has turned me off Raw until January 4th. Which I'm sure that isn't going to be much better.

I forgot that you had to utter the simple words Suck It to wrestling fans, and you are considered a genius. Pretty much Dennis, that or USA or What! I don't think you are going to hear the crowd chant Socialism! or No Public Option! Terrible..

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

Cena and JeriShow both deserved their respective wins tonight. JeriShow have rebuilt the tag devision, yeah Legacy and DX have helped but JeriShow have really carried it back to relevancy. Good on em, they deserved that win.

Cena, fucking right he should win it. And it was perfect having Orton as the other. Personally I have no idea why Taker was nominated for the award, he's only been back for a few months. Punk deserved to be in it but Cena and Orton have both owned this year and it was good to see it contended between the 2 in a mini tourney, good stuff.

Jeff winning extreme moment of the year was a give in.
Michaels/Taker winning match of the year was also a give in.
Sheamus was also obvious as the winner for his award.

Other than those the rest was pretty average stuff but they were always going to put stupid stuff in like Cole winning OMG moment or whatever.

I thought most of it was pretty good.