Ring of Greatness: WWE 2011 Awards

The final day of 2011 has arrived and it has most certainly been a busy year in the world of professional wrestling. Fans saw the return of Kevin Nash, the retirement of Vince McMahon, The Rock in all his glory, the rise of undersized athletes, as well as countless other moments standing out among the plethora of storylines and scraps.

In honor of the twelve months at were I have put together a list of awards covering the basic categories as well as a few out-of-the-ordinary angles. Re-live some memories, enjoy, and have a safe, fun-filled New Year!

***Most Undeserved Push***

Mark Henry: Look, I have a lot of respect for Henry the person and I appreciate his contributions to the business. However he’s Xanex on the stick and far from entertaining in the ring. To not only carry the title for as long as he did but also “take out” a bunch of notable stars in the process was unnecessary and a push I hope to see end in the near future.

***Head-Scratcher of the Year***

Hornswoggle Speaking: First of all, it’s amazing Hornswoggle is still around on the roster. He does very little but provide generic comedy I assume is appreciated by children even though some of his schtick involves adult humor. Regardless, Santa Claus granting him the gift of speech was beyond bizarre (and not funny). All that was missing was Mrs. Claus giving birth to a hand. Kane’s hate of Cena’s lack thereof is a close second place.

***Rising Star of the Year***

Dolph Ziggler: Sorry Zack Ryder fans, but Ziggler is a far more interesting character with greater depth and potential. Ziggler is also an excellent wrestler and can sells like few others. I expect a huge year for him in 2012 including at least one World/WWE title-run.

***Tag-Team of the Year***

Air Boom: Though I enjoyed a few of the random teams pasted together for a few months, such as Miz and R-Truth, Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston have brought back some of the things that made tag-team wrestling of yesteryear so great. They’re charismatic, work together in a coordinated manner, and are a believable pair. I would love to see WWE develop more legitimate teams in the same way, something they appear to possibly be doing based on some of the duos to show up lately.

***Diva of the Year***

Vickie Guerrero: Guerrero has more personality than any Diva on the roster even if she lacks their looks or athletic ability. She gets the heat of Beth Phoenix-Nattie Neidhardt combined and is one of the better managers in recent history.

***Angle of the Year***

CM Punk’s “Shoot”: It’s not as if anyone over the age of 12 who has their mental capacities about them believes WWE is real. However, it was still awesome to see Punk talk about aspects of the business that had been true for a long time and still were to an extent; that muscular giants without talent got pushed while those with real ability were overlooked. He said things fans never expected to hear on TV even if they felt them to be true. Seriously, one of the great performances/stories in recent history, and one that was good enough to get people back into WWE who vowed to stop watching years ago.

***Wrestler of the Year***

CM Punk: Was there any question Punk was at the top of this list? John Cena has done a commendable job in the face of so much criticism but nobody has entertained on the microphone, or in the ring, like Punk. Plus, he called for the return of WWE ice cream bars, and that in itself is a glorious notion.

***Match of the Year***

HHH vs. Undertaker – Wrestlemania 27: I don’t think anyone felt HHH would go over to break Undertaker’s streak but these two sure made it look like it a few times. Perhaps it’s unfair to pick the annual appearance from Taker but he simply knows how to make magic with other guys of his ilk.

PHOTO CREDIT – WWE