Note: These awards cover December 1, 2005 to December 1, 2006. Look for Pulse Wrestling’s site-wide awards next week!
P.C.’s Best of 2006
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Bryan Danielson (ROH)
2nd Place: Samoa Joe (TNA)
3rd Place: KENTA (NOAH)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: A.J. Styles (TNA)
When people look back at the great years in wrestling history, Bryan Danielson’s 2006 will likely be left out of the conversation because he’s still an Indy wrestler. That realization is quite sad as Danielson had a year and a title reign as ROH champion that rivaled Samoa Joe’s run a few years back. So many matches involving Danielson have been cited as Match of the Year candidates that there was really no choice in my opinion by the end of November. In Joe’s defense, TNA’s shitty booking of him at the end of the summer and through the fall is what cost him this award, that and Angle/Joe DID NOT live up to expectations. KENTA benefited greatly from his ROH run as almost every single one of his matches in ROH was a possible MOTYC in critics’ minds. However, Danielsonâ€â€with well-received matches against Marufuji, Roderick Strong, Nigel McGuinness, KENTA, Joe, Homicide, Chris Hero, and two 60 minute draws in two nights (against McGuinness and Colt Cabana)â€â€is hands down your wrestler of the year.
TAG-TEAM OF THE YEAR: Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita (Zero-One MAX)
2nd Place: A.J. Styles & Christopher Daniels (TNA)
3rd Place: Austin Aries & Roderick Strong (ROH)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA (NOAH)
With tag-team wrestling all but dead in North America, I decided to look to Japan to give me my tag-team of the year again; they didn’t fail. Hidaka & Fujita won the Tokyo Sports tag-team of the year last year and rode that momentum to a year of widely well-received matches and a GHC Jr. Tag Title win at NOAH’s 3/5 Budokan show. Aries & Strong and Styles & Daniels were two of the only bright spots in the North American tag wrestling (Styles and Daniels in particular), but Hidaka & Fujita were able to time and time again put on a show while being given 20-35 minutes every time. While they may be spotty, they can get the crowd hot and still know what tag-team wrestling is. That’s good enough for me.
TECHNICAL WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Bryan Danielson (ROH)
2nd Place: Kurt Angle (WWE)
3rd Place: Chris Benoit (WWE)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Kurt Angle (WWE)
This was a no-brainer for me as Angle’s absence through most of the summer killed his shot for this award and Benoit seems to be more brawler than technical wrestler these days (not that that’s a bad thing, he did finish 3rd). Danielson continues to show that he is probably going to have to carry technical wrestling on his back as when Benoit and Angle leave, he will be the only person to properly carry on the legacy of mat-based wrestling in North America.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT OF THE YEAR: KENTA (NOAH)
2nd Place: Rey Mysterio (WWE)
3rd Place: Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: KENTA (NOAH)
When you look at the body of work KENTA had this year, there was no doubt that he was taking this one home. Yes, Marufuji won the GHC Title and Mysterio won the WWE Title, but I’m still going with KENTA because neither Marufuji nor Mysterio had close to as many good matches as KENTA did this year. While I’m glad that Mysterio got his title run (and it was a very good one actually), we all know it was the Eddie Guerrero Memorial Title Run and Marufuji only got one title defense in before the voting period endedâ€â€a win over KENTA that was named Tokyo Sports Match of the Year. But KENTA had well-received matches against Kobashi, Marufuji, Roderick Strong, Davey Edwards, Bryan Danileson, Takashi Suguira, and, of course, the triple threat with Joe & Danielson.
BRAWLER OF THE YEAR: Samoa Joe (TNA)
2nd Place: Abyss (TNA)
3rd Place: Finlay (WWE)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Abyss (TNA)
This is Joe’s consolation prize for not being able to bring home Wrestler of the Year. While Morishima did have a good year (I didn’t think the Misawa match was as good as hyped), he was mainly a token 3rd place and Abyss had this award won for the majority of the year with the two great title matches against Christian Cage, the Rhino feud produced a couple of very entertaining matches, and he took home the NWA Title in a passable match with Sting. But it would be Joeâ€â€with matches against Christopher Daniels, Abyss, the Steiner match, the triple threat against Rhino and Monty was another big surprise thanks to Joe, the Angle match was still a plus for Joe, his involvement in ROH’s Cage of Death match, and his tag-team with Homicide show that “it’s never over ‘till it’s over†is a fitting quote to go with Joe’s win here.
CARD OF THE YEAR: Supercard of Honor (ROH, 3/31)
2nd Place: (tie) Navigate for Evolution (NOAH, 3/5) & NOAH’s 4/23 Budokan show
3rd Place: Slammiversary (TNA, 6/18)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Wrestlemania 21
Had Suzuki/Akiyama lived up to what their feud had been, than NOAH’s 2nd Budokan show would’ve taken home this one. However, with an incredible card, ROH is able to claim the best card of 2006. Now remember, I’m not able to see a lot of ROH and from what I’ve read, any number of cards from ROH (and ANY card from Wrestlemania weekend) would’ve been a suitable winner here. However, it’s their 3/31 card featuring the widely talked about Dragon Gate match (well worth the hype), a very entertaining undercard with good-great matches throughout and Danielson/Strong going 56 minutes with the “spot of death†being too much for any other card I’ve seen to match.
FEUD OF THE YEAR: Samoa Joe Vs. Christopher Daniels and A.J. Styles
2nd Place: ROH Vs. CZW
3rd Place: A.J. Styles & Christopher Daniels Vs. LAX
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Batista Vs. HHH
While the ROH/CZW feud is an Indy fan’s wet dream or any fan of the Pure Wrestling/Hardcore Wrestling feud, the Joe/Daniels & Styles feud put the X Division back to the forefront of TNA. The classic Joe/Styles match last December is what sent the already started feud into overdrive with a great buildup (“I don’t respect your codeâ€Â). Joe/Daniels was a fitting follow-up and the two would have another fantastic match on TNA’s first Thursday iMPACT. The January match would be followed by another triple threat that didn’t match last September’s, but was still great. And there was the shortened Ultimate X match that still was able to be more entertaining than almost everything that preceded it. While ROH/CZW was played out like a great novel and LAX was put on the map for their highly entertaining feud with Styles & Daniels, match quality wins out.
BEST ANGLE: Homicide/Cornette double turn after Cage of Death Match
2nd Place: CZW invades ROH
3rd Place: Samoa Joe holds NWA Title hostage
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Yuji Nagata turns heel and forms Team JAPAN
This was an easy choice for me because I’m a fan of everyone involved and I’m always up for a double turn that works. Joe did get in some of the best interviews of the year while holding the NWA belt hostage and CZW invading ROH was a dream for many fantasy bookers, but the end of the ROH/CZW feud would give ROH a major storyline for the rest of the year. This angle played out in a lot of ways the same way the Steve Austin/Bret Hart double turn played out and it stands as the one time since Austin/McMahon that the “evil authority figure†angle has been done effectively.
BEST PROMOTION: UFC
2nd Place: ROH
3rd Place: Pro Wrestling NOAH
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Pro Wrestling NOAH
Is there really any question here? Had NOAH been able to finish the year strong and not let their booking and drawing ability at Budokan go to shit, they may have had a chance. And ROH was easily the best promotion in the world quality-wise this year, but UFC has spearheaded the MMA renaissance in America and for that they should be rewarded. With cards getting 300, 400, 600, and 700 thousand buys, which alone would warrant promotion of the year honors. The fact that they also put on some good shows and gave fans the matches they wanted to see (Courture/Liddel III, Ortiz/Shamrock II, Sylvia/Orlovski II and III, St. Pierre/Hughes II, Hughes/Penn II, Bonnar/Griffin II) just solidified them as the best promotion on the planet right now.
BEST T.V. SHOW: iMPACT! (TNA)
2nd Place: SmackDown! (WWE)
3rd Place: RAW (WWE)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: iMPACT (TNA)
I’m not going to say much because iMPACT! ended with a whimper rather than a bang this year when Russo took over the ranks. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt (I said so right after he signed), but the “Fight for the Right†so-called Battle Royal was it and I now watch no wrestling T.V. even though I will watch iMPACT! sparingly depending on what the spoilers say. That’s how bad the product has gotten on T.V. in my opinion.
BEST PROMOTIONAL MOVE: TNA gets prime time T.V. slot on SpikeTV
2nd Place: TNA starts running house shows
3rd Place: NOAH showcases their next generation in important matches
Previous Winner(s)
2005: TNA signs with Spike TV
It was almost a flip of the coin. TNA did make the best moves for their promotion this year, even though they may have counteracted everything by making some of the worst as well. However, getting prime time and doing house shows are both a step in the right direction and could override the bad moves (maybe). NOAH was on the right track by pushing their young talent, but they f*cked up by pushing them too far too quick and now have a real mess on their hands for 2007.
BOOKER OF THE YEAR: Gabe Sapolsky & Cary Silkin (ROH)
2nd Place: Dana White (UFC)
3rd Place: Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama, & Kenta Kobashi (NOAH)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH)
While Dana White gave us dream matches galore, Gabe & Cary gave us storylines that made sense, feuds with great payoffs, MOTYC’s galore, NOAH people coming in for feuds that people got behind, Dragon Gate showing off some flash & flare, and long-term booking. I’m a fan of long-term booking because, if done right, it gets people behind the people involved and it really has been the one type of booking that has worked well throughout history. The E can do this pretty well leading into Wrestlemania or any big PPV, but what Gabe & Cary did this year that The E has had trouble doing since the end of the Attitude Era is finish angles well.
BEST FACE: Rey Myserio (WWE)
2nd Place: Sting (TNA)
3rd Place: A.J. Styles (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: John Cena (WWE)
The face/heel line has been pretty thin for the past decade and it really doesn’t seem to be getting any broader. However, when a face is a face and doesn’t use heel tactics to get crowd heat, I have to give props. This year Rey Mysterio did this better than anybody solidifying his spot as this generation’s Ricky Steamboat, a guy that can’t play heel because people wouldn’t buy him as one.
BEST HEEL: Jeff Jarrett (TNA)
2nd Place: Edge (WWE)
3rd Place: Randy Orton (WWE)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Jeff Jarrett (TNA)
Now before all the anti-Jarrett people and the Edgeheads and whatever other people hate Jarrett simply because other people hate Jarrett, let me just say that he was the best heel in wrestling for the second straight year. Case in point: if everybody hates this guy so much, he’s doing his job as a heel. Through the summer this guy had garbage thrown at him, how long has it been since that shit has gone down huh? I understand that most of the Jarrett hatred is because he spent a total of five months as NWA champion this year, but he still was a great heel on the mic and in angles by getting people to hate him that much. While Edge’s heel heat is definitely more legit, I have to go with Jarrett.
MOST UNDERRATED WRESTLER: William Regal (WWE)
2nd Place: Shelton Benjamin (WWE)
3rd Place: Carlito (WWE)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Alex Shelley (ROH/TNA)
While Carlito and Benjamin’s misuse is more blatant and obvious to people, they’re still on T.V. more than Regal has been this year. Carlito came in 3rd at most since he’s had an ACTUAL feud or two this past year. While Benjamin wasn’t really in any meaningful feuds, he was still being used. In Regal’s case, he was having great T.V. matches with Benoit, and had good-great T.V. matches with a variety of other opponents. His reward for all of this: jobbing to Vito. Yeah, that’s underrated.
BEST INTERVIEW: Ric Flair (WWE)
2nd Place: Samoa Joe (TNA)
3rd Place: The Paparazzi (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Eddie Guerrero (WWE)
The reason I watched any of RAW during the summer was Ric Flair. In a year when The E didn’t really do a lot right, they did something right by giving Flair time to talk. His ability may be dwindling and his best years in the ring have come and gone, but this guy will be able to talk forever. Can anything stop Flair from being completely awesome on the mic? Well, since time hasn’t been able to, I’m going to say no. The Foley feud and the Edge feud, not to mention the countless little promos and interviews Flair did just goes to show that on the mic, maybe there is no one greater.
J.D.’s Best of 2006
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Samoa Joe (TNA)
2nd Place: Bryan Danielson (ROH)
3rd Place: Low Ki (Senshi) (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: A.J. Styles (TNA)
Looking back at this year only one wrestler stands out in my mind as the best. That wrestler is Samoa Joe. Now before anyone bitches about Danielson not being number one, let me just say that I did not see all of Danielson’s matches from this past year and that is the reason why I can’t put him above Samoa Joe. Anyways, Samoa Joe really came into his own in TNA in 2006, pulling out high 3 star matches and 4 star matches like it was no big thing. Although TNA’s booking did falter him a little, I still can’t think of anyone else who out performed the Samoan Submission Machine.
TAG-TEAM OF THE YEAR: A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels (TNA)
2nd Place: Brian Kendrick and Paul London (WWE Smackdown)
3rd Place: Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita (Zero-One MAX)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: America’s Most Wanted (TNA)
Once again, because I have not seen all of Hidaka and Fujita’s matches I can’t pt them at the top of my list. Now, when it came down to 1st and 2nd place I felt that either team deserved to be at the top and had to do a lot of weighing out each teams pros. and cons. When it came to Styles and Daniels I took into account that they are great performers as a tag team and the feuds they had this year were way better than Kendrick and London’s, plus the overall quality of their matches were better, but that was do to Styles and Daniels having better opponents. Overall, I just had to go with Styles and Daniels, but Kendrick and London’s run in 2006 did leave a promising mark on WWE’s rehabilitation of the tag team division.
TECHNICAL WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Kurt Angle (WWE/TNA)
2nd Place: Bryan Danielson (ROH)
3rd Place: Low Ki (Senshi) (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: (tie) Kurt Angle (WWE) & Samoa Joe (TNA)
Although Bryan Dnaielson is one of the best technical wrestlers I have ever seen, this year has to go to Kurt Angle based on the fact that with all of the shit he’s dealt with this outside of the ring; i.e. numerous injuries/wear and tear on the body, demotion to ECW, getting fired by WWE, and then being reborn in TNA, he still was at the top of his game from a technical standpoint. Not only did Kurt get a 4 star match out of Undertaker, but he also had a decent feud with Randy Orton. Even though Kurt’s year was not a full one, I can’t fault that against the performances he put on when he was wrestling and it is for that reason that he is my 2006 Technical Wrestler of the Year.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT OF THE YEAR: Low Ki (Senshi) (TNA)
2nd Place: Christopher Daniels (TNA)
3rd Place: A.J. Styles (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: A.J. Styles (TNA)
I’m going to make this category short and sweet, didn’t see all of Kenta’s work in ROH, boy that sounds repetitive. Aside from that Styles didn’t have his best year in 2006 and Daniels would have been number one except for the fact that Low Ki had the longest title reign for TNA this year and he also beat Daniels in his return match for TNA.
BRAWLER OF THE YEAR: Samoa Joe (TNA)
2nd Place: Abyss (TNA)
3rd Place: Finlay (WWE)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: HHH (WWE)
I can’t say enough about Samoa Joe; he can do no wrong in my eyes. In 2006 Joe proved that he is the toughest, most intimidating, stiffest working wrestler in the business. The countless matches with A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels brought the best quality in Samoa Joe in 2006, and that was the brawler within. Hopefully 2006 was just a preview of what Joe can bring to the table from a brawling perspective.
CARD OF THE YEAR: NOAH Budokan Show (NOAH, 4/23)
2nd Place: Slammiversary (TNA, 6/18)
3rd Place: Wrestlemania 22 (WWE, 4/2)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Wrestlemania 21 (WWE, 4/3)
This was a no brainer in my opinion. Not only was the overall quality of the card great for NOAH’s April 23rd show, but also the show itself produced 3 top ten match of the year candidates. When a promotion can produce a card like that, very few can argue against it as the top choice.
FEUD OF THE YEAR: Samoa Joe Vs. A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels
2nd Place: Edge Vs. John Cena
3rd Place: Edge Vs. Mick Foley
Previous Winner(s)
2005: HHH Vs. Batista
The Joe/A.J./Daniels feud was definitely the best one of the year. Not only did it revamp TNA’s X-Division, as my colleague has stated in his article, but the feud was full of heat. It wasn’t just a feud between three people trying to prove how tough they are, it was a feud that saw the first big push of Samoa Joe, a feud that saw a mutual pact between two X-Division greats, and it was a feud in which the defense of TNA’s top division was at stake. Basically, the Joe/A.J./Daniels feud was everything a smark, and a mark, wanted to see, and it lived up to the expectations of everyone.
BEST ANGLE: A new King of the Ring is born in King Booker (WWE)
2nd Place: Christian Cage turns on Sting at Hard Justice (TNA)
3rd Place: Christopher Daniels’ blood on Samoa Joe’s towel: a new symbol for Joe (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Batista leaving Evolution and becoming new face World Heavyweight Champion
This is my angle of the year because it produced one of the best, if not the best, heels of the year, but will look at that later. This angle was also great because it brought back an almost dead Booker T in the sense that before this push Booker had just lost to the Boogeyman at Wrestlemania 22, which is pathetic to say the least. To think that Booker wouldn’t have even been pushed if it hadn’t been for the numerous injuries on Smackdown makes this angle that much better. All I can say is “ALL HAIL KING BOOKER.â€Â
BEST PROMOTION: UFC
2nd Place: TNA
3rd Place: ROH
Previous Winner(s)
2005: TNA
No question about this one here. UFC had, hands down, the best promotion of the year. Not only did their buy rates beat out all of the competition, but from an entertainment point of view UFC gave the fans what they wanted and, with the exception of Ortiz/Shamrock II, the feuds they produced met the demands and expectations of the people.
BEST T.V. SHOW: TNA impact!
2nd Place: WWE SmackDown!
3rd Place: WWE Raw
Previous Winner(s)
2005: WWE SmackDown!
Another short and sweet decision here, TNA had the best entertainment values of a television show and had the best quality of matches on television in 2006. Nothing could compare or contend with TNA as they made so many hurdles this year.
BEST PROMOTIONAL MOVE: TNA gets prime time slot on Spike T.V.
2nd Place: TNA signs Kurt Angle
3rd Place: WWE tries to buy the rights to Pride Fighting
Previous Winner(s)
2005: TNA signs WWE wrestlers like Rhyno and Christian
As stated just above, TNA made many hurdles this year with many great promotional moves. First, and even though it doesn’t count towards this year, they got their t.v. show back on t.v. by signing a deal with Spike T.V., and from there they had good enough ratings to move the show into a prime time slot, and then they signed Kurt Angle to immediately improve the quality of their feuds. It is with these feuds that TNA took a big step in becoming a legitimate contender to WWE, and in 2007 they will hopefully take another.
BOOKER OF THE YEAR: Gabe Sapolsky & Cary Silkin (ROH)
2nd Place: Dana White (UFC)
3rd Place: Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama, & Kenta Kobashi (NOAH)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Jeremy Borash, Dutch Mantell, Bill Banks, Scott D’Amore, Mike Tenay (TNA)
Had to give it to Gabe and Cary this year, what they managed to pull off in 2006 made ROH what it was. Not only did they bring great feuds with equally great storylines, but they managed to serve up a house show that had, in my opinion, the match of year. Give Gabe and Cary credit where it is due, managing to beat out Dana White and UFC in a year where dream matches were at a premium, they came through and brought the most entertaining promotion of the year.
BEST FACE: A.J. Styles (TNA)
2nd Place: Rey Mysterio (WWE)
3rd Place: Christopher Daniels (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: John Cena (WWE)
Even though I felt that Rey Mysterio had the best year as a face, the decision to put him at second was made based on the fact that his whole year was tainted by the death of the late, great Eddie Guerrero. It is because of this reasoning that I had to go with Mr. TNA, A.J. Styles, who had another solid year with the company and was easily the most over wrestler in wrestling.
BEST HEEL: Edge (WWE)
2nd Place: Randy Orton (WWE)
3rd Place: Bryan Danielson (ROH)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: HHH (WWE)
This year was they year in which we saw Edge finally making the big time, in terms of main eventing. Not only was he the most over heel in wrestling, but he also had a great feud with John Cena and had the birth of a great gimmick in “the rated R superstar.†Oh, and did I forget to mention Edge’s feud with Mick Foley that started his year off with a bang leading to the match that stole the show at Wrestlemania 22. What can you say, love him or hate him, Edge earned his spot as heel of the year in 2006.
MOST UNDERRATED WRESTLER: Carlito (WWE)
2nd Place: Shelton Benjamin (WWE)
3rd Place: Petey Williams (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Shelton Benjamin (WWE)
Being the most underrated wrestler in 2006, “that’s not cool,†but that’s exactly what Carlito was and it was because of the TERRIBLE booking by the WWE. Not only did Carlito make the dumbest feuds he was in entertaining, i.e. Chris Masters versus Carlito, but was able to bring to life WWE’s mid-card when he was limited to his ability as a wrestler. Now that the WWE has let Carlito wrestle to his ability, in a sense, he has proven that he was the most underrated wrestler of the year.
BEST INTERVIEW: Kurt Angle (WWE/TNA)
2nd Place: John Cena (Raw)
3rd Place: Samoa Joe (TNA)
Previous Winner(s)
2005: Eddie Guerrero (WWE)
Although his year was limited, Kurt Angle’s interviews were amazing and passionate to say the least. The one that I thought put him over the top though had to be the first interview he cut the night he entered a TNA ring. Not only did he explain the underlying themes behind his firing from WWE, but he also cut a great promo on his reasoning for choosing TNA over any other job opportunity that he was being offered. So sorry for all of you Flair fans that thought he hands down won it this year, but Kurt Angle had the best interview in 2006. “It’s true, it’s damn true.â€Â
