The Inside Pulse Wrestling team put together a list of five nominees in eleven categories for the latest year-end awards. Now that our readers have spoken, and selected who they felt were the best in 2011, it’s time to see what the staff felt and how that compares. Spoiler alert: there weren’t too many surprises.
Let’s go!
MALE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
1: CM Punk (14 out of 16 votes)
2: Daniel Bryan
3: The Miz
4: Alberto Del Rio
4: Bobby Roode
Reader pick: CM Punk (90% of the vote)
FEMALE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
1: Beth Phoenix (9 of 14 votes)
2: Kelly Kelly
2: Natalya Neidhart
4: Kharma
5: Velvet Sky
Reader pick: Beth Phoenix (58% of the vote)
BEST NON WRESTLING PERSONALITY
1: Vickie Guerrero (8 of 13 votes)
2: Jim Ross
3: Michael Cole
3: Karen Angle
5: Kevin Kelly
Reader pick: Vickie Guerrero (55% of the vote)
MOST IMPROVED
1: Cody Rhodes (6 of 15 votes)
2: Dolph Ziggler
3: Mark Henry
4: Zack Ryder
5: James Storm
Reader pick: Dolph Ziggler (44% of the vote)
BEST TV SHOW
1: WWE Friday Night Smackdown (8 of 15 votes)
2: WWE Tough Enough
3: IMPACT! Wrestling
4: WWE Monday Night Raw
5: ROH TV
Reader pick: Raw (45% of the vote)
BEST SPECIAL EVENT
1: WWE Money in the Bank (12 of 16 votes)
2: TNA Destination X
3: WWE TLC
3: TNA Bound For Glory
5: ROH Death Before Dishonor IX
Reader pick: WWE Money in the Bank (86% of the vote)
BEST INDIE PROMOTION
1: CHIKARA (7 of 14 votes)
2: EXW
3: DGUSA
4: Riot City Wrestling
5: EVOLVE
Reader pick: CHIKARA (47% of the vote)
MATCH OF THE YEAR
1: CM Punk vs. John Cena (WWE Money in the Bank, July 17) (10 of 15 votes)
2: AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (TNA Destination X, July 10)
3: Davey Richards v. Eddie Edwards (ROH Best in the World 2011, June 26)
3: Undertaker vs. HHH (WWE WrestleMania XXVII, April 3)
5: CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. The Miz: TLC (WWE TLC, December 18)
Reader pick: CM Punk vs. John Cena (80% of the vote)
PROMO OF THE YEAR
1: CM Punk – THAT RAW PROMO (12 of 16 votes)
2: The Rock’s Raw return promo with John Cena
2: Edge – Retirement speech after WrestleMania
4: Bobby Roode on Impact after winning the World Heavyweight Championship and turning his back on Fortune
4: CM Punk at Comic-Con vs. Triple H
Reader pick: CM Punk on Raw (86% of the vote)
BEST STORYLINE
1: CM Punk “Pipe Bomb” / chasing John Cena leading to MITB = (10 of 15 votes)
2: Bobby Roode build up to title shot with Kurt Angle
2: The Legacy of Cody Rhodes
4: The Rock vs. John Cena
5: Mark Henry’s Hall of Pain vs. Big Show
Reader pick: CM Punk (83% of the vote)
TOP STORY OF THE YEAR
1: Macho Man Randy Savage dies (7 of 14 votes)
2: The Rock returns after 7 years
3: Former ROH Champs CM Punk and Daniel Bryan close year as top 2 WWE champions
4: Wrestlers take to YouTube – from Matt Hardy trying to get fired to Zack Ryder finally getting his push
5: Sinclair Broadcasting buys Ring of Honor
Reader pick: Macho Man RIP (43% of the vote)
What do you think? Post comments below, and stay tuned for additional commentary throughout the week.
