Best and Worst of WWE/TNA for 2012 (Part I)

(I apologize for this getting delayed. My schedule caught up with me and it took a little longer getting this out. I will hopefully have Part II uploaded this Sunday, but I better not bite off more than I can chew)

It's finally that time where I talk about the results that came in for the Best and Worst of 2012. This is where I also give my personal thoughts on my choices. Without further or do, let's begin. 

Comedy Character(s) of the Year

My Choice: Team Hell No

Your Choice: Team Hell No-71%, Ricardo Rodriguez-16%

As with WrestlingNerd tradition, I will start off with the comedy segment. This one goes out to the people that gave us the most laughs. Without a doubt, there's only one clear choice. Daniel Bryan and Kane had one hell of a year. I was a bit stunned when I saw these two being paired with one another during AJ's roller coaster. Once it was time for people to move away from that relationship, it was time for Bryan and Kane to move into something new. What we got was one of the most successful comedy pairings in modern wrestling history. Their anger management segment is what got the ball rolling, but it only got funnier after that. From Skeletor all the way towards "I am the Tag Team Champions", Bryan and Kane went together so well. I know a time's gonna come for Bryan and Kane to move onto something new, but I really want to see these guys stick together for just a bit longer. 

Catchphrase of the Year

My Choice: YES! YES! YES!

Your Choice: YES! YES! YES!-51%, You're Welcome-15%

There was plenty of good catchphrases for the year of 2012, but there's only one clear winner for this award. This should've been called the Daniel Bryan Award. With the combination of the 'NO' chant, Bryan ate up about 65% of the voting. You can argue that it was because of the 'YES' chant that put Bryan in the position that he's in. I never would've imagine seeing Bryan this far over with the audience. And keep in mind that he's the bad guy. You're supposed to boo this guy, right? Well, fans would use it to fuel Bryan's anger, but I think you know what I mean. This 'YES' chant has gone global in the wrestling world. I don't think a chant like this has blown up since Stone Cold Steve Austin's 'What' chant. I think the 'YES' chant is gonna be around for a while. Damn you, Daniel Bryan, for coming up with this catchy saying. 

Mid-Carder of the Year

My Choice: I refuse to make a selection

Your Choice: Antonio Cesaro-49%, Cody Rhodes-28%, Kofi Kingston-18%

You're probably wondering why I don't want to make a selection. Is it because the selections are so close that I cannot choose? No. It's because the division was so dull that naming one would be somewhat of a joke. I mentioned in one of my articles in 2012 that the mid-card division was very disappointing. It's mostly because WWE has two mid-card titles and used them like a game of 'Hot Potato', while TNA pretends to have a mid-card title. When you give the thing to Robbie E and Devon, it's officially means nothing. The TV Title should be thrown in a pool of liquid, hot, magma, but I digress.   If you thought the mid-card was so great, name a great mid-card feud for 2012. Wade Barrett/Kofi comes close, but even that was almost forgettable. This division really had nothing going for it all year. It looked promising with Cody Rhodes, but that quickly went down the drain when Big Show ended up taking the title. After that, the IC title never recovered. Every time you saw a new champion born, you thought at the back of your mind that this person would do something with the belt. Well, it never happened. All they did was keep the belt nice and shiny. That's something….right? If I have to pick somebody, I reluctantly have to go with Antonio, but only because he was the only one consistent enough in the division. Let's hope we forget about the mid-card division of 2012 since it can only go up from here on out…..I hope. 

Diva/Knockout of the Year

My Choice: AJ Lee

Your Choice: AJ Lee-53%, Eve and Brooke Tessmacher-20%

I know it's strange to give this to somebody who probably had the amount of matches that you could count on one hand. I know members of the IWC will say that this deserves to go to a lady that actually won the title, but who really cares? It isn't like there was that one title reign that was really important or groundbreaking. Nothing really stood out from the competition standpoint. Sure, Eve went through a heel turn that she played rather well, but I have to pick AJ because she was everywhere in 2012. She gets tackled by Big Show. She has a hand in Bryan's WM defeat. She got involved with multiple personalities on this program. She even became the GM of Raw. We got so overloaded with AJ that I went from liking her to really detesting the character during the AJ/Vickie angle. AJ may have been plastered all over the company roster, but it was because of that overload that made people hate the character. I think they went way overboard with the AJ exposure. I guess it's appropriate for her to be playing a heel as I write this. I hope one thing that changes in 2013 is a little less AJ. I don't mind AJ has a person, but we could use a break from the crazy chick. 

Biggest Bust of 2012

My Choice: Alberto Del Rio

Your Choice: Tensai-63%, Del Rio and Zack Ryder-10%

I can see why the majority of you picked Tensai. He was hyped up a little before WM and what did you get? An overweight man in a Shredder helmet. After a while, the Shredder helmet just disappeared, so now you all you have is this white guy trying to be Japanese. Yeah, it sounds pretty stupid. So, how can anybody top that in the bust category? Well, I think Del Rio can. Look at the year Del Rio had in 2011. He won the Royal Rumble, MITB, and multiple WWE Championships. Yeah, outside of being that character that had nothing interesting to say, he did pretty well in 2011. 2012 comes around and Del Rio is still that guy with nothing to say and he fell hard. He was injured for part of the year, but came back to really do a whole lot of nothing. The only thing I remember about Del Rio in 2012 is his rivalry with Sheamus, and that's not a good thing. I know what you're thinking. How can Del Rio be the biggest bust of 2012 if he continues to get world title match after another? It's because nothing he did really stood out. Was Tensai bad? Yeah, but did you really think a guy named 'Tensai' was gonna go far in the WWE? It's Prince Albert with Japanese symbols around his face. Did you really think this was gonna work? I personally thought the best Tensai would do is be that big guy who would make top faces look strong, but he eventually couldn't do that. I think with a name like Del Rio, I expect a little more. Of course, I'm just trying to give you folks something else to think about. Do you have to agree with me? Of course not, but I have to at least try to let you see it from my perspective. 

Worst Shrieking Voice

My Choice: A monkey

Your Choice: Vickie Guerrero in a landslide

What can I say? That monkey made a final run at the award. 

Worst AJ Lee Kiss

My Choice: A potato sack

Your Choice: John Cena-71%, Dolph Ziggler-11%

Who am I kidding? A potato sack would've performed a more convincing kiss than Cena. Not for nothing, but it seemed as if Cena was confused during the kiss. Either that or he didn't get enough to eat earlier in the day. 

Best Promo Cutter of 2012

My Choice: CM Punk

Your Choice: CM Punk-53%, Paul Heyman-18%, Damien Sandow-16%

Want to know something interesting? I've had a category similar to this since I started back in late 2010. In all three years of doing a recap on the year, CM Punk has won all the time. It seems no matter the competition, Punk finds a way to be one the best promo cutters in the business. Now, I would argue that he did better in 2011 than 2012, but he did cut some pretty good stuff in 2012. He really started to shine in this category when he made his heel turn back at Raw 1000. This is where he started to get into his comfort zone once more and prove that he may be the best talker in the modern era. Even with the Heyman alliance, Punk has proven that Heyman is only there to help him draw heat because the last thing Punk needs is help cutting a promo. After the first Raw of 2013, it seems that CM Punk is on his way to winning this award for a fourth year in a row. It's may be a premature statement, but that's how talented Punk is. When Punk talks, you either listen or straight up hate his guts, and that's what makes him one of the best talkers in the business. 

Worst Acting of the Year

My Choice: John Cena

Your Choice: Claire Lynch-57%, AJ and Cena-16%

I can completely understand why the majority of you voted for Lynch. She only graced us on television for two months, but what we saw in those two months was enough to give you nightmares and question why you watch this stuff in the first place. It just seemed like every time she was on-screen, she just didn't give a s***. Maybe getting a mini-job with a wrestling company isn't the most ideal situation for you, but you can at least take pride in your acting. After all, I would like to think that no matter what your ambition is that you would at least try. Claire clearly didn't care and boy did her performance show. So, with all that said, why did I not give this to Claire? Because I feel this award is too good for her. Yeah, the other three names did bad in their own right, but at least most of them have a passion to be in the business…for the the most part. The other reason I cannot give this to Claire is because she was only a character for two months. This isn't the worst acting in two months. It's the worst acting for the whole year. Simply put, the other three gave us more reasons to question their acting. All three of them make a strong running for this award, but the ultimate turkey for this award is John Cena. The man had one of the worst years in his career. And every time Cena lost or somebody made a commend about him, what's he doing? He just sits there with that s***-eating grin. I don't know what it is about this smile, but every time I see it, I just want to deck him in the face. I have no issues with Cena in general. Sure, overcoming the odds for the 5 millionth time gets a little old, but I think it's how nothing bothers his on-screen character. I understand why he does this, but it's still bothers me. I respect everything he's done for the business and all the off-screen commitments he does. I will never question Cena's work ethic. That's something I need to get out of the way since I don't hate Cena at all. I respect what he does on a daily basis, but I'm just not a fan of his on-screen character….Well, certain elements, that is. He's a damn boy-scout who always has to play it all smooth. But when Cena tries to be edgy, it just comes off as forced. After a while, I get sick of seeing it. I know it seems ridiculous to take Cena's grin out of proportion, but I cringe every time I see that grin. That grin is gonna haunt me for the rest of my life. Not even Claire Lynch could accomplish something like that. Oh God, it burns!!!

Rookie of the Year

My Choice: Can I choose both? 

Your Choice: Ryback and Damien Sandow-36%, The Shield-17%

This is one of the two ties that was accumulated in the poll, and with good reason. Both of these characters have their positives and negatives working for them. I think it came down to these two. One funny thing I should note is Antonio Cesaro only got about 2% of this vote. He's good enough for mid-card of the year, but isn't even close to rookie of the year. Do you see why I think the mid-card in 2012 was awful? Anyway, Shield had a great turnout and even though I have enjoyed this stable, they have only been on the active roster for 6+ weeks in 2012. I cannot give this award to the Shield because of that aspect. Maybe they can take this award next year, but they arrived too late to snag this one. What debuted this year was two of my favorite characters, Ryback and Damien Sandow. Ryback graced us with his raw power and ability to get the audience to chant "Feed me more", while Sandow empowered us with his sophisticated style. I think one way to judge who the winner is seeing what these guys will be in the future….

Ryback is on the path of being a main eventer for years to come. I think we are looking at a major face for this company. Damien can be one of those heels that could be big when he breaks away from Rhodes Scholars. In fact, I think Rhodes Scholars has held Damien back. I'm not saying I don't like the tag team. In fact, I like Rhodes Scholars, but Damien works better as a singles competitor than a tag wrestler. I think he had something going when Cody got injured and he started testing the audience, but that has gone on the back-burner (somewhat) since Cody returned. Damien has a great look and I think it's because of his promo style that he'll get far. I enjoy listening to this guy talk. It's like watching an artist paint. Well, art with a beard, but you get my point. It's tough to choose one guy and it seems that no matter who I pick, I still still feel guilty about my selection. At the end of the day, as much as I like Damien Sandow, I have to pick Ryback. Despite countless world title defeats, I think Ryback had the bigger year in the rookie department. I think either one of these selections would be appropriate and you aren't wrong for thinking Damien is the rookie of the year. This literally could've gone either way, but this is strictly my opinion and Ryback impressed me a little more. Still, let's give it up for both guys. Feed me more!!! You're welcome!!! 

Check back on Sunday for Part II. See you then.