My apologies for not having Tuesday night’s live Smackdown review up, but you can blame Dashboard for pretty much deleting the entirety of my recap and pissing me off to the point that I refused to retype the whole damn thing.
With that out of the way, let’s revisit last week’s Goji Award nominations and see who won, based on your votes.
Best New Superstar Nominees: Ryback, Damien Sandow, and Antonio Cesaro
And the winner is……Antonio Cesaro by a wide margin! Out of everyone who voted, it looks like Cesaro is the overwhelming favorite and the new “Internet darling” here at the Pulse. It’s hard to argue with that logic, seeing as how he’s put on some pretty good matches since his debut. Ryback, not surprisingly, is not as beloved as the WWE would have you believe. Sandow also did not get much love, but sometimes there’s just that one guy who makes more of an impact on a consistent basis.
Match of the Year Nominees: Chris Jericho vs CM Punk (WM XXVIII), CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan (MitB), and John Cena vs CM Punk (NoC)
And the winner is……Punk vs Bryan at Money in the Bank! As I predicted, there was some concern about whether their Over The Limit match should be up for consideration, but what I didn’t expect was the overwhelming support for the addition of Undertaker vs Triple H III at Wrestlemania. Don’t get me wrong; it was an emotional match, but the confines of the Hell in a Cell were designed to hide Taker’s lack of mobility, which is why it was more of a brawl than a wrestling match. It told a great story, but the matches I chose from contained a combination of great angles as well as excellent wrestling at their very foundation. Likewise, Lesnar vs Cena was brutal in its depiction of “Lesnar the Unstoppable Force” but was undermined by a terrible ending.
Workhorse of the Year Nominees: CM Punk, Alberto del Rio, and Dolph Ziggler
And the winner is……Dolph Ziggler! Punk was a close second in votes, but Ziggler takes home the trophy for his phenomenal stretch of bouts with multiple opponents over the course of the year. This culminated in a fantastic victory over Cena at TLC just last weekend. Although he may have lost most of his matches, he succeeded in making himself and his opponents look good.
Most Entertaining Angle Nominees: The AJ Love Rectangle, Team Hell No, and CM Punk’s Title Reign
And the winner is……CM Punk! Team Hell No actually tied with the same number of votes, but because they’ve lost a bit of steam as of late (not counting their match at TLC), the award goes to Punk for actually making history in the process. The longest reigning WWE Champion of the past 25 years? Now that’s something I can get behind.
Biggest Disappointment Nominees: Brock Lesnar, Sheamus’s Title Run, and Wade Barrett
And the winner is……Brock Lesnar! One might argue that Brock’s loss to Cena completely stalled his heat and push, while some might say that Paul Heyman’s presence as Brock’s mouthpiece came too late. Still others (like myself) blame the haphazardly contracted dates for Lesnar’s downfall. Regardless of the cause, Lesnar’s return was completely stifled any way you slice it.
Biggest Surprise Nominees: John Cena’s Lack of Titles, CM Punk’s Heel Turn, and “Yes!” Chants
And the winner is……CM Punk’s Heel Turn! The heel turn BARELY defeated Cena’s empty waistline in this category. It was a total swerve that no one saw coming until the very night it occurred. I mean, it was subtly hinted that Punk was being overlooked in importance by Cena by various individuals, but no one was prepared for a full-on heel turn. We’re not debating whether it was successful, by the way; the focus was on the surprise factor.
The “Not-So-Creative” Award Nominees: Zack Ryder’s Burial, the AJ Scandal, and the ADR vs Sheamus Feud
And the winner is…..the AJ Lee Scandal! While the end result has just come to light (AJ’s teaming with Ziggler), it was clear from the start that the storyline was nonsensical and idiotic with no clear goal in sight. It looked to be a placeholder for getting AJ out of her GM position so they could bring in Ric Flair as well as a reason to give Cena and Ziggler something to do.
That’ll do for me this week. I apologize for not having the “Not-So-Live” Smackdown Report up, but you can blame Dashboard for that. I was all set to post the completed recap when the site decided to shut down and erase all my hard work. Rather than type it all AGAIN, I decided to take a week off from the review to refuel. I’ll see you all after the holidays, so Merry Christmas to all!
Yes, even the Jews.
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
