Gordi the former AEW fan Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 7 hours ago, D.Z said: I disagree with all this years WON awards and I have nullified all results from my dimension of existence. I understand (and support) that most of the fun of awards season is disagreeing with the results, but I really don't see anything too egregious this year. I mean, taking into account that a lot of people who read the WON and participate in the voting likely agree with the Meltzerian take on what makes a great match (overlong, full of big moves and near falls, self-consciously going for "epic" or "five tars" etc etc) it makes sense that those types of matches and those types of wrestlers are generally going to dominate. And given that I am far from alone in just being happy that AEW exists and tending to view them, at this point, through very rose-coloured glasses, I think most of the awards this year make pretty good sense. I mean, I personally and you personally might make different specific choices, and I'd be very interested in hearing the hyper-specific choices people here might have made... but... LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR) Winner: Jon Moxley Yeah. My choice would be Ishii, just for his amazing run in the G1, and Zeus is my personal favourite guy who had a good year this year, but Mox certainly captures the spirit of what made pro wrestling in 2020 so fun and interesting. A guy who we all knew had it in him, being used right, and absolutely shining. Combining kayfabe and in-ring considerations, you could argue for Ibushu, Naito, Roman, Go... they all made the top 10. I think Mox is the best choice, and all things considered I don't see any crazy snubs on the list. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER Winner: Current AEW World Champion Kenny Omega Shingo, Ishii, MiSu, Go, Fénix... at least they all made the top ten. Neither Gresham nor Danielson did, but they were nos. 2 and 3 in the Danielson Award voting. Amusingly so, as @ReiseReise pointed out. This is the award where I'm most interested in hearing what other people think. I always learn something from those takes. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR Winners: Current AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks In terms of representing what 2020 was all about, I think this is the right choice. Purely on in-ring terms they weren't even the top team in AEW, I think... but all other things considered 2020 really was their year. BEST ON INTERVIEWS Winner: Eddie Kingston Can confirm! PROMOTION OF THE YEAR Winner: AEW Can confirm! Any other choice would have been insane this year. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW Winner: AEW Dynamite I mean, was anyone expecting a different result here? I love that BTE finished at # 3. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR Winner: The Young Bucks vs. Adam Page and Kenny Omega at AEW Revolution 2020 Very reasonable representation of the best Meltzer-style match of the year, and very enjoyable even if that kind of match is not to your tastes. My personal choice would be Ishii vs MiSu from night one of the G1, but I am neither shocked nor dismayed that it missed the top 10. It's not a Meltzer-style match. I am chuffed that the brutalist clubbering classic Dragunov vs. WALTER made the top 5! I think a list that contains both that match and the Stadium Stampede really represents pro wrestling in 2020 pretty well. Also interested in hearing other folks' personal choices here. UNITED STATES/CANADA MVP Winner: Jon Moxley Makes sense. JAPANESE MVP Winner: Tetsuya Naito Makes sense. I also would have accepted Ibushi, Ishii, Go, MiSu... and they all made the top 10. Zeus would have made my list but I'm not surprised he didn't here. MEXICO MVP Winner: Rey Fenix I am not knowledgeable enough to have an opinion here. I am curious what others think. EUROPE MVP Winner: Current WWE NXT UK Champion WALTER Also not knowledgeable here, but this feels correct to me. HODGE AWARD/NON-HEAVYWEIGHT MVP Winner: Hiromu Takahashi Can confirm! Came back from a broken f'n neck and worked like a star. So sad he's out injured again (but not surprised). Fénix and Darby are 2 and 3, which also seems good to me. WOMEN’S WRESTLING MVP Winner: Bayley Yeah! Happy it's not 100 % an AEW fanboy list. WWE's womens' division is so strong, seems right that they got a win here. I'm guessing Sasha Banks would have made sense here, too. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW Winner: Conor McGregor Agree with @Brian Fowler here. Why is this a thing that gets voted on? Isn't more of a simple match problem? FEUD OF THE YEAR Winners: Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston I enjoyed it. I'm assuming most of us did. What would you rank higher? Edge vs Orton? I'm almost surprised that sentiment didn't carry Cody vs Brodie to the top of the list. MOST IMPROVED Winner: Britt Baker Fair choice! There were a lot of wrestlers stepping up in AEW this year. My personal choice might have been Jeff Cobb. I'm mildly surprised he didn't make the top 10. MOST CHARISMATIC Winner: MJF I'm fine with this. I would have voted for King, but he got the award for stick work... I think OC and Naito got more out of their charisma than MJF this year. They both made the top 10. BRYAN DANIELSON AWARD (BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER) Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. Meh. Interested whom everyone else liked for this. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER) Winner: Jon Moxley I might go with WALTER here, but that's mostly based on that one match. 2020 was a pretty good year for clubberin' considering how much Meltzer Style has dominated otherwise. I'm sure there were Mexican Indie guys having great brawls in tents in parking lots that missed the list, but what are you going to do? BEST FLYING WRESTLER Winner: Rey Fenix Lot of competition here, but I won't argue this choice. MOST OVERRATED Winner: Bray Wyatt Over-pushed would make more sense. MOST UNDERRATED Winner: Ricochet Under-pushed would make more sense. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Winner: Pat McAfee Sure! Seems like a fair choice. I also would have accepted Powerhouse Hobbs, but again it is nice that this isn't just a pure AEW fanboy list. BEST NON-WRESTLER Winner: Taz I prefer Schiavone's work this year, and Taz is very hit-and-miss with me, but I did enjoy his interactions with Negative One. BEST TV ANNOUNCER Winner: Excalibur He's been stellar this year. WORST TV ANNOUNCER Winner: Michael Cole Honestly surprised JR didn't take this one. BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW Winner: AEW Revolution PPV on February 29 from Chicago I personally preferred nights 1, 14, nd 17 of the G1 but I can see how this won. Again, a good representation of pro wrestling in 2020. WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW Winner: WWE Super ShowDown on February 27 from Saudi Arabia Didn't watch it, but I can't say I disagree on principle. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER Winner: Kenny Omega’s One Winged Angel Tour of the Islands, brother! Didn't even make this list. These awards are a sham! Again, love to hear what everyone else would have chosen. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC Winner: WWE firing people during a pandemic during a year where they were setting profit records Agree with @John from Cincinnati that this dosn't particularly seem like a "tactic." Definitely disgusting,though. WORST TV SHOW Winner: WWE RAW Didn't watch it at all this year, I believe. Seems right, though. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR Winner: Braun Strowman vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt – Swamp Fight from The Horror Show at Extreme Rules Didn't watch it. Seems right, though. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR Winner: Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman Seems about right. Out of major feuds I watched, EVIL vs. Tetsuya Naito did the least for me. I have no trouble believing that Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt and Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton were worse, though. WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR Winner: WWE Hard agree, particularly if we are considering who did the least with the most. BEST BOOKER Winner: Tony Khan Can confirm! PROMOTER OF THE YEAR Winner: Tony Khan Can confirm! (And can conform as well). BEST GIMMICK Winner: Orange Cassidy He deserves it (clap clap clapclapclap). Also would have accepted Adam Page. WORST GIMMICK Winner: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt Sounds right. BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK Winner: The Young Bucks: Killing the Business from the Backyards to the Big Leagues Haven't read either yet, but I'm more excited about the Andre book. I'll buy both eventually. Curious about everyone's picks here, as well. BEST PRO WRESTLING DOCUMENTARY Winner: Dark Side of the Ring – Owen Hart That one and the Benoit one were both heart-rending. Damn, man... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt925 Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 3 hours ago, cwoy2j said: My best friend and I do a Zoom watchalong of old wrestling matches every Thursday. I try to pick a mix of good matches, topical matches, absurd matches, etc. Last night we watched Flair vs. Funk from Superbrawl 2000 due to the fact that Flair's birthday was yesterday. But, I saw that the Tank Abbott vs. Big Al match was on that card so we had to watch it. What a glorious, hilarious trainwreck. 1. I have no clue who the fuck Big Al was. I remembered the match happening and always assumed it was either 911 or Al Greene playing the role but it was just some random dude. 2. It was a leather jacket on a pole match which would scream "Vince Russo booking" but Russo had been sent home at that point IIRC. The leather jacket in question was supposed to be a "skin" akin to a motorcyle jacket that Tank had for a long time and had when he was in a motorcycle club with Al or some shit but it was clearly a brand new jacket with UFC logos on it. 3. They start the match by strapping their wrists together with a belt for some reason and trade slaps. Big Al gains the advantage when he eschews slapping to forearm Tank. 4. Tank attempted to climb up the pole with Al over his shoulder (Al was a fairly big guy, at least 250lbs) and dropped him from the top turnbuckle to the floor in a horrifying bump. 5. Tank gets the jacket and sort of tries to wear it, gives up and roots around in the pockets to get a knife. 6. Tank holds the knife to Al's throat. Mark Madden screams, "he's going to cut his throat" or something like that while Tank audibly goes, "I could fucking kill you right now." 7. Tony Schiavone valiantly tries to save the whole thing by going, "Are those scissors? He's trying to cut off Al's beard." 8. Al was clean shaven. I was there at the cow palace. I had a really cool photo of flair funk pile driver through the table that’s been lost to the ages. That tank Abbott stuff was such a mess haha. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattdangerously Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 3 hours ago, thee Reverend Axl Future said: and also gave me tips for pleasing the ladies which I will treasure always. Look, you can't just casually drop that in there without giving us more details. I think we all need to know the Anvil's philosophy for making sweet love to the ladies. Was he big on foreplay? Did he focus on oral? What were his thoughts on butt stuff? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReiseReise Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 According to the - hopefully nixed - Vince McMahon biopic, that last part the ladies reserved for Hulk Hogan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleavy Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 10 hours ago, Brian Fowler said: Has ZSJ won the Danielson award more times than Danielson yet? I know Foley has more Brody awards than Brody. no, Danielson currently leads 9-7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happ Hazzard Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Since AEW acknowledge the WON awards Dave may as well get some plaques made up so the wrestlers can show them off on TV and/or social media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 (edited) @El Gran Gordi. My go at the WON Awards: Spoiler LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR) Winner: Jon Moxley Natural: Jon Moxley. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER Winner: Current AEW World Champion Kenny Omega Natural: I'd go with Kenny Omega. Very honourable mention to Minoru Suzuki. TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR Winners: Current AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks Natural: I'd go for FTR. BEST ON INTERVIEWS Winner: Eddie Kingston Natural: Eddie Kingston. PROMOTION OF THE YEAR Winner: AEW Natural: AEW by far. BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW Winner: AEW Dynamite Natural: AEW Dynamite by far. PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR Winner: The Young Bucks vs. Adam Page and Kenny Omega at AEW Revolution 2020 Natural: Same. UNITED STATES/CANADA MVP Winner: Jon Moxley Natural: Same. JAPANESE MVP Winner: Tetsuya Naito Natural: Same. MEXICO MVP Winner: Rey Fenix I am not knowledgeable enough to have an opinion here. EUROPE MVP Winner: Current WWE NXT UK Champion WALTER Natural: Same. HODGE AWARD/NON-HEAVYWEIGHT MVP Winner: Hiromu Takahashi Natural: Same. WOMEN’S WRESTLING MVP Winner: Bayley Natural: Sasha Banks. BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW Winner: Conor McGregor Natural: Same. FEUD OF THE YEAR Winners: Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston Natural: Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. MOST IMPROVED Winner: Britt Baker Natural: Yes. MOST CHARISMATIC Winner: MJF Natural: Tetsuya Naito. BRYAN DANIELSON AWARD (BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER) Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. Natural: Daniel Bryan. BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER) Winner: Jon Moxley Natural: Same. Honourable mention to Eddie Kingston. BEST FLYING WRESTLER Winner: Rey Fenix Natural: Same. MOST OVERRATED Winner: Bray Wyatt Natural: I'll go Braun Strowman. MOST UNDERRATED Winner: Ricochet Natural: Under-pushed would make more sense. Cesaro is my pick. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Winner: Pat McAfee Natural: Same. BEST NON-WRESTLER Winner: Taz Natural: Same. BEST TV ANNOUNCER Winner: Excalibur Natural: Same. WORST TV ANNOUNCER Winner: Michael Cole Natural: Same. BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW Winner: AEW Revolution PPV on February 29 from Chicago Natural: Same. WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW Winner: WWE Super ShowDown on February 27 from Saudi Arabia Natural: Didn't watch it, but I can't say I disagree on principle. BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER Winner: Kenny Omega’s One Winged Angel Natural: Same. MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC Winner: WWE firing people during a pandemic during a year where they were setting profit records Natural: Same. WORST TV SHOW Winner: WWE RAW Natural: Same. WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR Winner: Braun Strowman vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt – Swamp Fight from The Horror Show at Extreme Rules Natural: Same. WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR Winner: Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman Natural: Same. WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR Winner: WWE Natural: Same. BEST BOOKER Winner: Tony Khan Natural: Same. PROMOTER OF THE YEAR Winner: Tony Khan Natural: Same. BEST GIMMICK Winner: Orange Cassidy Natural: Dark Order. If it's one person, Adam Page. WORST GIMMICK Winner: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt Natural: Retribution. BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK Winner: The Young Bucks: Killing the Business from the Backyards to the Big Leagues Natural: Not qualified to answer. BEST PRO WRESTLING DOCUMENTARY Winner: Dark Side of the Ring – Owen Hart Natural: Fantastic year for documentaries. I'd have gone with Dark Side of the Ring - Benoit. Surprised it was beat by Owen's. Felt Owen's was a little rushed. Edited February 27, 2021 by The Natural 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzil Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK Winner: The Young Bucks: Killing the Business from the Backyards to the Big Leagues that list of award winners reads like a joke someone made up about who the regular listeners of Dave 'friends with everyone in AEW' Meltzer would vote on (even if wrestling is so awful today it might actually be accurate), but at this point you really are just taking the piss....right? i refuse to believe this isnt satire. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabremike Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 23 hours ago, RIPPA said: I wonder if Bret Hart actually sucks Ask Tom Magee. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 6 hours ago, Happ Hazzard said: Since AEW acknowledge the WON awards Dave may as well get some plaques made up so the wrestlers can show them off on TV and/or social media. Just bite the bullet and have the Revival attack Dave while he presents the tag team of the year and have the Bucks make the save. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Then we can complain it wasn't as good as when Hercules Ayala jumped Carlos Colon at the WWC Awards that one time 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spontaneous Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Can we get FTR/Cornette vs Bucks/Meltzer at Double or Nothing? Bucks and Dave win after the 6 Stars Meltzer Driver on Cornette. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 There are about 5-6 teams better than the Young Bucks in their own promotion. WON Awards is just "Vote for what Dave likes" 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Shut up and vote for what I like. I haven't seen a wrestling match since January of last year, so you're fairly limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 (edited) 15 hours ago, El Gran Gordi said: MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC Winner: WWE firing people during a pandemic during a year where they were setting profit records Agree with @John from Cincinnati that this dosn't particularly seem like a "tactic." Definitely disgusting,though. I mean it may be a tactic, but they didn't really use it for promotion. I understand the Drake Maverick storyline was a thing. But it wasn't like they were trying to drive viewership by emphasizing that they made massive cuts to their talent roster. As you said, it's definitely disgusting. But it's not "promotional." The rest of the awards are whatever and about what I'd expect considering the tastes catered to by Dave's newsletter. But that one award was outlandish enough to get the eyebrow raise from me. Edited February 27, 2021 by John from Cincinnati Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 2 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said: There are about 5-6 teams better than the Young Bucks in their own promotion. WON Awards is just "Vote for what Dave likes" I think FTR are the better team, but the Bucks were all over the voting for match of the year. I think they deserved it more this year than several of the years during their streak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 14 minutes ago, Brian Fowler said: I think FTR are the better team, but the Bucks were all over the voting for match of the year. I think they deserved it more this year than several of the years during their streak. I'd have FTR, Omega & Page, Best Friends, Santana & Ortiz above them from this past year and others i would consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxB Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 A Promotional Tactic meaning a tactic used by a promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Cincinnati Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 I considered that and immediately dismissed it because it's stupid. But considering the "overrated" and "underrated" awards continue to serve the purpose they do, that's about the standard one should expect from these things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 25 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said: I'd have FTR, Omega & Page, Best Friends, Santana & Ortiz above them from this past year and others i would consider. That makes no sense because the Bucks were the only team pushed as a main event act the ENTIRE year (or whenever the eligibility period would be). Why? They got to go against ALL the teams you mentioned plus like Jurassic Express and the Butcher & the Blade. FTR would probably be runner up, but I think FTR had too many lulls due to not being on TV consistently. There were times I forgot FTR was even there until they showed FTR and Tully giving an interview or something like that. Not their fault, but that should rule you out of tag team of the year. Now if there was an underrated team of the year award, AEW would have several potential candidates just because they helped the Bucks get to that position. It's funny that as much shit Cody gets, I feel like the Young Bucks are always positioned as the top team WITH or WITHOUT the belts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niners Fan in CT Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Just now, Elsalvajeloco said: That makes no sense because the Bucks were the only team pushed as a main event act the ENTIRE year (or whenever the eligibility period would be). Why? They got to go against ALL the teams you mentioned plus like Jurassic Express and the Butcher & the Blade. FTR would probably be runner up, but I think FTR had too many lulls due to not being on TV consistently. There were times I forgot FTR was even there until they showed FTR and Tully giving an interview or something like that. Not their fault, but that should rule you out of tag team of the year. Now if there was an underrated team of the year award, AEW would have several potential candidates just because they helped the Bucks get to that position. I don't believe so.. Best Friends and Santana & Ortiz had the best match maybe in AEW history and while the Bucks had a tremendous match with Omega and Hangman it was due to the storytelling aspect of the match which is more Kenny's bag and less so the Bucks. It was drastically different from what we typically see from them. I prefer watching FTR vs. Any old tag team than the Bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 If you had a gun to my head asking me whether PnP/Best Friends or Bucks/Kenny& Page was the better match, I really don't know if I could give you an honest answer. I loved them both so much for entirely different reasons, and thinking back to the show threads, I suspect a lot of us are in that boat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 5 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said: I don't believe so.. Best Friends and Santana & Ortiz had the best match maybe in AEW history and while the Bucks had a tremendous match with Omega and Hangman it was due to the storytelling aspect of the match which is more Kenny's bag and less so the Bucks. It was drastically different from what we typically see from them. I prefer watching FTR vs. Any old tag team than the Bucks. It's not about one match though or even personal preference. It's about a body of work. Hell, I even forgot to mention them being able to go against Private Party and Dark Order (the Evil Uno & Stu Grayson combo). They got to have great matches with EVERYONE, not just one excellent match. By default, that makes them tag team of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Fowler Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 FWIW, Bucks were in the matches voted best and third best, as well as another top ten match this year. It's circular, I admit, but the people who voted them tag team of the year are the people who thought they were in three of the ten best matches this year, including number 1. (Parking Lot Brawl was awesome, but Omega/Page vs Bucks was the best match I saw in 2020 by a pretty easy margin, imo.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert S Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 On 2/26/2021 at 5:27 AM, The Natural said: Still remember this Cesaro theme fondly: I never realized that there is a lot of Swiss German in that theme, somehow I only heard "c'est un miracle, c'est vrai" and just assumed the theme to be fully in French, but actually there are as much Swiss German lyrics as there are French lyrics. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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