Throwback Thursday: Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Overview (1/26/13) - [a case of the summer]

It's our first day of rain here on vacation (all things considered, I guess we've been lucky with the weather) so I actually have some time to put this entry together.  Like last week, I thought we'd take a look back at another edition of Top Ten Cases.  With 2013 more than half over (can you believe that?), I thought we'd evaluation where we stand with the 2012 Year-End Awards.  My present day comments are in bold italics.

Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Overview

Thank you, one and all, for following this ten day journey known as my Top Ten Cases Year-End Awards.  Now, here's an overview of both my picks and your voting results.  Also, be sure to visit my blog tomorrow for my LIVE Royal Rumble thoughts!

SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR

My pick - CM Punk; Your pick - CM Punk (69%) (I don't think this can be disputed, even in hindsight.  However, it's not necessarily looking like CM Punk will be the Superstar of 2013.  That's no slight on Punk, but between his recent absence and the emergence of a certain other star, at this point I wouldn't give him the 2013 nod).

BREAKOUT STAR OF THE YEAR

My pick - AJ Lee; Your pick - Daniel Bryan (49%) (Again, I stand by that statement.  And at the moment, I would refer to Daniel Bryan as the Superstar of 2013, not the breakout star.  And while AJ did seem to stall a bit near the end of the year, I'd say she's back to being at the top of her game).

SUPERSTAR WITH THE MOST DISAPPOINTING YEAR

My pick - Randy Orton; Your pick - Zack Ryder (31%) (Despite a Money in the Bank victory, I'd say that Orton is continuing to have a very disappointing year.  The fact that Orton has been an afterthought of every feud he's been in -- none of which have been particularly spotlighted -- is quite telling.  Additionally, the fact that he so desperately needed the briefcase to stay relevant in the title picture is another bad sign for him.  As for Zack Ryder, he seems like a lost cause now).

SUPERSTAR MOST POISED FOR A SUCCESSFUL 2013

My pick - Dolph Ziggler; Your pick - Dolph Ziggler (46%) (While Ziggler, like AJ, stalled somewhat -- what was the deal with his non-build towards WrestleMania? -- things picked up quite well for him.  He had the fans chanting his name when it came time for him to cash in his briefcase, and his pairing with AJ was mighty entertaining.  And they made lemonade out of lemons when his concussion paved the way for a well done babyface turn.  However, I don't think he's the one who panned out to have the most successful year.  Again, I think that honor is ultimately going to go to Daniel Bryan).

NEXT SUPERSTAR TO BE A FIRST TIME WORLD CHAMPION

My pick - Ryback; Your pick - Ryback (54%) (Eight months into 2013 and, if I'm not mistaken, this still hasn't happened yet.  There have only been three WWE Champions -- CM Punk, The Rock, and John Cena -- and they've all previously held the championship.  And there have been two World Heavyweight Champions -- Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler -- and the same goes for them.  So we haven't seen a new champion quite yet, but at this point I don't think it'll be Ryback.  Money in the Bank precedent indicates it could be Damien Sandow.  Since the other top contenders have all held the title before, that may very well be a safe bet).

MOST SUCCESSFUL TURN OF THE YEAR

My pick - CM Punk turns heel; Your pick - CM Punk turns heel (46%) (And yet, oddly, halfway through 2013 he ended up turning face again).

MOST SHOCKING STORY OF THE YEAR

My pick - Brock Lesnar returns to WWE; Your pick - Brock Lesnar returns to WWE (44%) (Seems like a reasonable pick.  This year it'll probably be the Bruno reconciliation).

BEST WWE WEB SERIES

My pick - WWE Download; Your pick - Are You Serious? (75%) (This whole YouTube web series thing ended up being pretty short lived, huh?)

WILL THE WWE NETWORK LAUNCH IN 2013?

My pick - No; Your pick - No (87%) (Looks like we'll both be right here).

WILL THE WWE UNIFY TITLES AND OFFICIALLY END THE BRAND EXTENSION IN 2013?

My pick - No; Your pick - No (89%) (I don't see why they don't just do this already.  The brand extension is all but pointless and they don't seem to care about treating all of the titles with any sort of prestige.  I'll be sad to see the physical World Heavyweight Championship gone, but what's the point now?  For marketing and branding purposes, I still don't see it happening, though).

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Overview

Thank you, one and all, for following this ten day journey known as my Top Ten Cases Year-End Awards.  Now, here's an overview of both my picks and your voting results.  Also, be sure to visit my blog tomorrow for my LIVE Royal Rumble thoughts!

SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR

My pick - CM Punk; Your pick - CM Punk (69%)

BREAKOUT STAR OF THE YEAR

My pick - AJ Lee; Your pick - Daniel Bryan (49%)

SUPERSTAR WITH THE MOST DISAPPOINTING YEAR

My pick - Randy Orton; Your pick - Zack Ryder (31%)

SUPERSTAR MOST POISED FOR A SUCCESSFUL 2013

My pick - Dolph Ziggler; Your pick - Dolph Ziggler (46%)

NEXT SUPERSTAR TO BE A FIRST TIME WORLD CHAMPION

My pick - Ryback; Your pick - Ryback (54%)

MOST SUCCESSFUL TURN OF THE YEAR

My pick - CM Punk turns heel; Your pick - CM Punk turns heel (46%)

MOST SHOCKING STORY OF THE YEAR

My pick - Brock Lesnar returns to WWE; Your pick - Brock Lesnar returns to WWE (44%)

BEST WWE WEB SERIES

My pick - WWE Download; Your pick - Are You Serious? (75%)

WILL THE WWE NETWORK LAUNCH IN 2013?

My pick - No; Your pick - No (87%)

WILL THE WWE UNIFY TITLES AND OFFICIALLY END THE BRAND EXTENSION IN 2013?

My pick - No; Your pick - No (89%)

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Will the WWE Unify Titles and Officially End the Brand Extension?

WILL THE WWE UNIFY TITLES AND OFFICIALLY END THE BRAND EXTENSION IN 2013?

My Pick:  No

My answer is “no,” but I hope I’m wrong.  I have been one of the most ardent defenders of the brand extension.  I honestly believe that guys like Eddie Guerrero and Edge and RVD and Booker T and JBL and Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan and CM Punk never would have gotten the opportunity to succeed that they received without the brand extension.  And plus, at its peak, the brand extension truly did present keep feuds fresh.  But ever since Triple H announced this “SuperShow” era, the brand extension has slowly but surely disintegrated.  And now it’s finally reached the point that keeping it going is doing more harm than good.  The World Heavyweight Championship – a title once proudly held and defended by guys like Edge, Batista, the Undertaker, and Triple H – has been so incredibly devalued that nobody even pretends to act like at its at the same level as the WWE Championship.

A few months ago I said that the brand extension exists in two ways:  Different titles and different General Managers.  Now, there are just different General Managers.  Officially, Raw’s titles are the WWE Championship and the United States Championship.  Smackdown’s titles are the World Heavyweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship.  They share the Divas and Tag Team Championships.  Yet the current US Championship is a Smackdown guy.  And this year, two Raw guys (Kofi and Miz) held the Intercontinental Championship.  Additionally, last year then-Smackdown guy Daniel Bryan feuded with CM Punk for the WWE Championship.  And current Raw guy Dolph Ziggler has the Money in the Bank briefcase for the World Heavyweight Championship.  Big Show went from feuding for the WWE Championship over the summer, to winning the World Heavyweight Championship in October.  AJ, who was a Smackdown Diva, was named the General Manager of Raw.  A year or two ago you could name a wrestler and everyone would immediately know which brand they’re on.  Now, not so much.  Without looking, which brand is Sin Cara on?  How about Kaitlyn?  How about Primo and Epico?  The Usos?  Brodus Clay?  Zack Ryder?  Everyone appears on both shows and anybody can hold either title.  So why keep this thing going?

With all of that said, why don’t I think it will happen?  Quite simply, there have been more than a few logical ways to end it, and they chose not to do it.  How about when Johnny Ace became the General Manager of both shows?  Or when US Champion Antonio Cesaro began feuding with Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston?  Why not unify the titles then?  It just seems like something that would have happened by now if they had any plans to do it.

What You Said – No

I asked this same question back in my 2010 Year-End Awards, and 87.5% of the voters said “no.”  This year, despite the fact that the brand extension has never been less significant, that number raised slightly, to 89%.  While my rant above suggested that WWE should end the brand extension because it simply doesn’t exist anymore, in WWE’s eyes they probably believe they’re getting the best of both worlds.  In the marketing sense, the brand extension quite literally allows them to extend their brand.  “Raw” and “Smackdown” are more than just TV shows – they’re identities.  They’re able to present and market Smackdown as something more than a show on Friday night – it’s a roster full of Superstars and championships.  You can say “Smackdown” and think of names like Sheamus and Randy Orton.  You can say “Raw” and think of John Cena and CM Punk.  WWE ends the brand extension, and they lose that potentially powerful association.  And yet, with the SuperShow, they have none of the restrictions.  They want to bolster Smackdown’s ratings?  Let’s put CM Punk and the Rock on that show.  They want to get Alberto Del Rio vs. the Big Show more exposure?  Have them open Raw.  In their eyes, I’m sure WWE thinks they have nothing to gain and the potential to lose a lot.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Will the WWE Network Launch in 2013?

WILL THE WWE NETWORK LAUNCH IN 2013?

My Pick:  No

What a difference a year makes.  In last year’s survey, 88% of the voters believed that the WWE Network would be a success, with the implication being that the launch would happen that year.  I, too, predicted the Network would succeed.  This year I decided to pose another question – not so much about whether it’ll be a success (for what it’s worth, I still think it will be), but whether we’d see it arrive at all this coming year.  Personally, I do not think the network will launch in 2013, and that’s not a bad thing.  WWE seems to be showing an admirable amount of restraint when it comes to this endeavor.  They seem to be making sure that everything is right and ready before taking the plunge.  Along with that, WWE is a promotional machine.  If they were remotely close to being able to launch their network (like, if it could happen in the next six months or so), we’d be seeing some level of promotion at this point.  Instead, the WWE Network has pretty much dropped off the radar.  Their Twitter account hasn’t been updated since October 30, and even by that point they only tweeted once every couple of months.  And there’s not much more activity than that on their Facebook page.  And if you do a search for “WWE Network” on WWE.com, a whopping 8 articles (the newest of which is from 10 months ago) come up as a result.  I don’t think they’d be this quiet about the endeavor if they were launching it within the next year.

What You Said – No

As noted above, 88% of voters believed the WWE Network would be a success last year.  This year, 87% believed it wouldn’t even launch in 2013.  Again, the two questions aren’t the same – but there’s certainly something to be said about those results.  I can’t say for sure why all of these voters don’t think the network will become a reality this year, but I’d venture to say that there seem to be conflicting stories regarding the company’s vision.  This probably leads fans to believe that the WWE doesn’t quite know how they want to present their network.  Additionally, there are the skeptics out there who didn’t believe any notable cable provider would pick them up to begin with.  At least, that’s my guess.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Best WWE Web Series

BEST WWE WEB SERIES

My Pick:  WWE Download

This is another category I’ve struggled with, but ultimately I went with Dolph Ziggler’s WWE Download.  There were two things that swayed me:  I’m a huge fan of Tosh.0 – which this show seems to be inspired by (although for all I know, they just caught some episodes of America’s Funniest Home Videos), and it gives Dolph Ziggler an outlet to express himself.  And while everybody equates Zack Ryder’s Z! Long Island Story with a Superstar’s (kinda) rise to superstardom due to his web show, the truth is that John Morrison and The Miz became stars in no small part because of their exceptional work on the Dirt Sheet.  It was that series that showed both the powers that be AND the fans that these two were highly entertaining individuals.  And if you’re to believe Ziggler’s Twitter comments, he not only performs on the show, he writes it as well.  That means, in addition to being great in the ring, he really is the total package.

While I had previously stated that Ziggler is pretty much in the same position on the card that he was a year ago, I do think we have seen an increase in mic time.  Although I don’t know for sure, I’d like to think at least a part of that can be attributed to his witty, well spoken delivery of jokes on WWE Download.  And actually, Ziggler appears to have a great sense of humor – one that would work as a heel or a face (although faces aren’t allowed to be witty.  They just smile).  He’s an arrogant womanizer, but somehow not unlikable.  Sometimes he talks a bit fast and soft, and can be hard to understand, but overall he’s very good.  And it’s a fun show – I’m disappointed that it’s going to end.

What You Said – Are You Serious?

Remember how I said I struggled with my pick?  This was the other show I was trying to decide between.  Are You Serious? is an awesome show and Josh Mathews (one of my favorite commentators) has great commentary with Road Dogg.  Plus, they were smart enough to cool their jets with Puppet H before that routine got really tired.  And who doesn’t love seeing old clips?  And WWE is at their best when they’re making fun of themselves.  It’s also great seeing Road Dogg and Josh get insider-y without being obnoxious or harsh about it.  So I’m not surprised that Are You Serious? won, but I am a little shocked that it won by such a large margin (75%).  I ultimately leaned towards WWE Download because at least that show could benefit an active competitor.

One thing I am happy about, though, is that Z! True Long Island Story didn’t win.  That show stopped being consistently entertaining once Ryder started appearing on Raw on a frequent basis.  At that point, it basically became a Raw clip show.  Then once Ryder’s push went to hell, he seemed so emotionally deflated that he didn’t have the same passion he first began doing the show.  It was definitely time for him to end that show.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Most Shocking Story of the Year

MOST SHOCKING STORY OF THE YEAR

My Pick:  Brock Lesnar returns to WWE

In a company that saw Sable, Hulk Hogan, and Bret Hart return after less-than-cordial departures – and big debuts like Eric Bischoff – it takes a whole lot to consider a return “shocking,” and Brock Lesnar may be the closest thing.  It isn’t even so much because of the messy manner in which Brock left, it’s also the lack of motivation for him to return.  Bret Hart had pride in his legacy.  Hulk Hogan needed to return to the spotlight.  Sable, I would think, desired to remain relevant.  And Eric Bischoff just seemed to enjoy the showmanship of professional wrestling.  Brock Lesnar didn’t seem to possess any of those qualities.  There just didn’t seem like the stars were aligned in regards to a Brock Lesnar return.

Yet ever since Brock Lesnar’s departure in 2004, rumors have constantly swirled that he would return to WWE.  Hell, at one point WWE.com even posted a story about Lesnar coming to Titan Towers, presumably to return to the company (although that went nowhere).  From there, obstacle after obstacle made it seem like a return was unlikely.  First there was his lawsuit against WWE.  Then there was his tenure in UFC, where Dana White made it clear that he would not be wrestling for WWE while under contract.  Then there was his intestinal illness, which made physical competition at all questionable.  The occasional name drop on WWE programming and that random altercation with the Undertaker at a UFC event were mere teases that never developed into anything.

But that changed just before last year’s WrestleMania, where it was announced that Lesnar had signed a deal with WWE that would include a handful of dates and matches.  It seemed like a great deal, and people were legitimately excited to see how the “Next Big Thing” would fit in with this new world.  People were fantasy booking matches against John Cena, Sheamus, and CM Punk, and possible renewed feuds with the Undertaker, the Big Show, and the Rock.  And while the success of the execution of Lesnar’s return is open to debate, you simply cannot argue with the fact that fans WANT to see him back – even after being gone approximately 4 times longer than the span of time he actually competed.

What You Said – Brock Lesnar returns to WWE

One of the “Other” answers that a surveyor provided was Jerry Lawler’s heart attack, and I really regret not thinking of that as a nominee.  I may have even selected it, to be honest (I make my picks before reading any of the votes).  I’m actually a little surprised that John Cena becoming the first person to fail cashing in on the Money in the Bank contract only received one vote (while Triple H getting a haircut earned 9!)  Finally having somebody fail after over 10 winners (with every single person who cashed in the briefcase winning the title), and it being your biggest star, is fairly significant.  However, most of you agreed with my answer, as Brock’s return to the WWE received 44% of the votes.

Brock Lesnar is a pretty interesting case, actually.  While it seemed unlikely he’d ever return – for the reasons I stated above – you can rest assured that every single year, people will be imagining scenarios that lead to his return.  And as I alluded to earlier, he really only competed on television for about two years and has been gone for about eight….and yet fans still exploded when he made his return.  Speculation indicates that Lesnar is going to resign with the company.  Let’s just hope we get a bit more out of WWE’s buck this time around.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Most Successful Turn of the Year

MOST SUCCESSFUL TURN OF THE YEAR

My Pick:  CM Punk turns heel

CM Punk’s heel turn is a truly unique thing.  Pretty much every single fan out there was perfectly happy cheering for him, so it wasn’t something that people particularly wanted to happen.  And the storyline reason behind his turn was incredibly weak.  As was the resulting feud with Jerry Lawler, and the random lack of respect the announcers showed towards him (suddenly forgetting that he stood up to every challenger and had successfully and honorably defended his championship for over half a year).  Yet, despite all of these shortcomings, CM Punk turning heel ended up being the best thing for him and his position within the company.

As a face, CM Punk was one of the most entertaining and consistently over guys on the entire roster.  He was getting great reactions with his mic work, and fans were emotionally invested in his matches (which were often the best of the night).  However, he was clearly playing second fiddle to John Cena.  While Cena’s feuds were the focal point of Raw (in many cases) and he was ending each PPV, Punk was relegated to the middle of the show.  Hell, his WWE title match against Chris Jericho wasn’t even included in the opening video of WrestleMania.  While the motivation and initial follow up of his heel turn was flimsy, it DID shift Punk from being the #2 face to the #1 heel, which by default was a promotion.  Since his heel turn, Punk has wrestled on four of the past five Pay-Per-Views.  Of those four shows, he’s wrestled in the last match of three of them.  Which is three more than all of the prior events in 2012.

And truth be told, once he found his footing, Punk’s heel turn has been spectacularly entertaining.  There were some moments when he seemed to turn into a stereotypical cowardly heel, but overall his work has been phenomenal.  I especially loved his shtick where he would raise the championship over his head and would slowly sidestep and rotate around the ring for an inordinate amount of time (like doing it over an entire commercial break).  And his partnership with Paul Heyman – which most were skeptical about since they thought it would mean we’d get less promos from Punk – ended up being one of the year’s highlights.  And whether it was by design or default, Punk’s transition to top heel made way for some fresh new babyfaces easing their way into the main event scene.

And if nothing else, turning heel at least got him a much, much better haircut.

What You Said – CM Punk turns heel

We once again agree here, but not overwhelmingly so, as CM Punk turning heel got only 46% of the votes.  Perhaps most surprising for me is the fact that Kane came in second place, with 21% of the votes.  I mean, Big Show’s heel turn and Alberto Del Rio’s face turn each earned them a run with the World Heavyweight Championship, yet they only gained 13% and 2% of the final vote.  Hell, even Eve’s heel turn (4%) won her the Divas Championship.  While Kane’s current “anger management” character is immensely more entertaining than the cartoon “embrace the hate” villain he was playing when he returned wearing a mask, much like Daniel Bryan, I’m not sure I would describe it as a “success.”  It was by no means a failure, but he basically went from main eventing shows against John Cena to working as a comedy character and one half of the tag team champions.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s still sitting mighty pretty with a pretty much guaranteed spot on every PPV, but I’m not sure he’s in a better position than he was before he turned.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Next Superstar to Become a First-Time World Champion

NEXT SUPERSTAR TO BECOME A FIRST-TIME WORLD CHAMPION

My Pick:  Ryback

I really do think Ryback will be the next first time World Champion, but here’s the kicker:  I don’t think it’ll be with the WWE Championship.  I say he wins the World Heavyweight Championship.  Until the very end of 2012, I would have bet with a certain level of confidence that Ryback was going to be the one to unseat the Big Show as World Heavyweight Champion.

WWE is in a unique situation with Ryback, and because of the fact that they’ve been much less restrictive about who they grant World title reigns to – and the titles have changed hands more than they had in the past – it’s one they also haven’t found themselves in for quite a while.  When Batista failed multiple months in a row to grab the World Heavyweight Championship away from Edge, he already had numerous title reigns to his name.  And we knew he’d have a few more, too.  That’s not the case with Ryback.  He’s been put in several featured matches on PPV, and he’s had to lose them all.  They seem invested enough in him that they continue to feature him so strongly and prominently, but they’ve been wise enough not to hot shot a title change.  Since they haven’t taken the Tensai route, where they just give up on the guy and use him as a comedic jobber, I’m inclined to think they’re just going to put him in a situation where he wins the other World Championship in a rather dominant fashion.  Despite coming up short every time he fails to win the WWE Championship, they’ve managed to protect him each and every time.

Interesting thing to note, though:  There was not a single first time World Champion in 2012.  That hasn’t happened in nearly a decade (2003 was the last time).  With Alberto Del Rio currently feuding with Big Show and a rumored Sheamus/Randy Orton World Heavyweight Championship feud on the horizon – and CM Punk, the Rock, and John Cena conceivably dominating the WWE Championship for the foreseeable future – who knows?  We may not even see a first time World Champion AT ALL in 2013.

What You Said – Ryback

Here’s a fun fact for you:  Back in my 2010 Year-End Awards, Wade Barrett was predicted to be the next first time World Champion.  It’s now two years later, and he still hasn’t won the championship.  In that amount of time, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Alberto Del Rio all beat him to the punch (and Christian and Mark Henry, depending on your perspective on the ECW Championship).  And some major title wins – like Sheamus winning the WWE Championship in 2009 – came completely out of left field.  So this category can be harder to predict than you might expect.  Nonetheless, we’re both in agreement here.

Ryback earned over half of the votes here (54%), with Wade Barrett and Antonio Cesaro coming off strong too (19% and 17%, respectively).  Appropriately, these are your Intercontinental and United States Champions, historically the championship Superstars held before going on to claim the World title.  Surprisingly, Cody Rhodes only received two out of the first 100 votes.  While historically none of us have been particularly good at making this prediction (in 2010, I did a bit better than you guys:  I picked Alberto Del Rio, who did win the championship that year….although Dolph Ziggler edged him out with his two hour title reign), I don’t see a better option than Ryback.  WWE has cut back significantly on their Shock TV title reigns (although Big Show remains a bit of a head scratcher), but Ryback seems to be following a similar model that Sheamus took last year.  Become a dominant babyface who eventually topples the heel champion.  Alberto Del Rio’s current reign may have thrown a bit of a wrench in his path of destruction, but I still see him ultimately nabbing the gold (perhaps from another Big Show reign, or maybe a returning Mark Henry).

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Superstar Poised for the Most Successful 2013

SUPERSTAR MOST POISED FOR A SUCCESSFUL 2013

My Pick:  Dolph Ziggler

While I do believe Dolph Ziggler has the best chance out of all the options, I’m still somewhat skeptical.  Dolph Ziggler was my pick last year (he was yours too, along with Sheamus) for this very category, and quite honestly 2012 was a very lateral year for him.  At the 2011 Royal Rumble, Ziggler battled Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship.  At the 2012 event, he fought CM Punk for the WWE Championship.  At WrestleMania XXVII he participated in a special attraction match (the Snooki mixed tag match).  He appeared in a similar specialty match at WrestleMania XXVIII (the 12 man tag to determine the WWE GM).  Thankfully, things did pick up for Ziggler around the summer following his Money in the Bank victory.  There was still some faltering – 50/50 booking against Chris Jericho, a losing PPV effort against Randy Orton, and being left off Hell in a Cell completely – but things ended on a high with a big victory at Survivor Series (and even being named team captain) and then a high profile feud with John Cena that saw him win in the show closing match.

And as strange as it sounds, the fact that Ziggler’s 2012 was pretty on par with his 2011 is perhaps the most promising thing of all.  Just look at the “Most Disappointing Year” posting – the fact that Ziggler’s year wasn’t terrible shows that they see something special in him.  Unlike Miz and Ryder, he didn’t go on a losing streak (that isn’t to say he didn’t lose a lot of matches).  Unlike Orton, he didn’t become a complete afterthought.  Unlike Tensai and Brodus, the company didn’t seem to completely lose interest in them.  In a twisted, ass backwards kinda way….NOT having a crappy year is showing that they’re protecting you.

Along with that, there’s the whole Money in the Bank thing.  Aside from Edge’s inaugural run with the briefcase, I don’t believe anybody has held onto the contract for as long as Ziggler has.  They’ve had numerous opportunities to have him cash in, and there have been a number of instances where he could have lost it (to Jericho and Cena), but they’ve resisted both possibilities.  That doesn’t necessarily mean anything positive – Edge held onto his briefcase for the longest, and was rewarded with a 3 week reign with the WWE Championship.  Conversely, Kane cashed his in the night he won it, and held onto the gold for 5 months – but it does show that they’re being careful and showing some wise restraint with him.

Ziggler always seems at the cusp of stepping up to that next level.  And while it hasn’t happened over the past year or two – which we’ve all predicted and expected – he also hasn’t taken tumbles down the card and experienced random losing streaks or squashes.  Hopefully this is the year WWE just allows him to take the plunge.

What You Said – Dolph Ziggler

Last year, Ziggler – along with Sheamus – was voted as your pick for the Superstar poised for the most successful 2012.  And while I don’t think we were right about Ziggler, you guys were on target with Sheamus.  So since Ziggler received more than double the amount of votes than anybody else on this list, let’s hope WWE once again trusts your instincts and gives him a shot at the big time.

It’s a tired and somewhat flawed argument (since the two SHOULDN’T be mutually exclusive), but I think Dolph (and many others who are right at the edge of making it to that next level) are hindered by these returning stars from the prior era.  If you look at any wrestling news site, they’ll tell you that they have WrestleMania matches lined up for John Cena, CM Punk, The Rock, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, and the Undertaker.  Of that group of six, only TWO are full time performers.  And only ONE is a relative new addition to the main event scene.  When the company seems more concerned with how they’re going to use Brock Lesnar’s 5 matches than they are with how to elevate Ziggler to the main event, there’s a real problem.  Ziggler has all of the tools to be an important face for the company, and the audience reacts to him, all he needs is a change in mentality from above.

Here’s hoping 2013 sees Ziggler get a run with the gold and a proper WrestleMania match.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Superstar with the Most Disappointing Year

SUPERSTAR WITH THE MOST DISAPPOINTING YEAR

My Pick:  Randy Orton

Wanna hear something really depressing?  I struggled immensely even trying to find Superstars other than CM Punk and MAYBE Sheamus to offer as options for my Superstar of the Year survey.  But when it came to picking a wrestler who has had an especially lackluster year, there was no shortage of potential candidates.  Aside from Cena, Punk, Sheamus, and – shockingly – the Big Show, has any full time Superstar been made to look good for any consistent amount of time?  Guys like Christian and the Miz – who were World Champions in 2011 – were relegated to short Intercontinental Championship reigns when they weren’t on losing streaks.  Then there were “newcomers” like Tensai and Brodus Clay, who came in with a roar but ended the year with a whimper.  And then, at a different level, you had somebody like Wade Barrett:  A guy who seemed to have a promising year ahead of him, but an unexpected injury kept him on the sidelines for much of the year.  Ultimately, though, I went with Randy Orton.

Since his debut, WWE has seemed to stuff Randy Orton down our throat.  Consider the following:  Randy Orton held the World Heavyweight Champion twice in 2011, the WWE Championship once in 2010, the WWE Championship three times in 2009, and the WWE Championship two times in 2007 (one of which was a six month reign that went into 2008).  For the better part of five years, Randy Orton has been a fixture in the World Title picture – and yet his 2012 was completely unremarkable.  Think back to the past year.  Can you remember one memorable Randy Orton feud?  While his somewhat equivalent John Cena appeared in the biggest match in WrestleMania history, Orton was in the second match of the show.  In a thrown together feud with Kane.  Which he lost.  Clean.  And while top stars like John Cena, CM Punk, Sheamus, the Big Show, and Ryback were super protected, Orton tapped out to Alberto Del Rio’s arm bar on more than one occasion.  When was the last time a top babyface tapped clean?

And even when Orton did take part in high profile feuds, he was hardly the focus.  In the ONE Pay-Per-View World title match he appeared in all year, the focus was mostly on Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio (Jericho and Orton were seemingly only added because the feud wasn’t gaining any traction).  And in the original imagining of Team Punk vs. Team Foley at Survivor Series, Ryback was clearly portrayed as the star of the team.

Randy Orton’s 2012 wasn’t just disappointing – it was completely forgettable.

What You Said – Zack Ryder

Unlike the Daniel Bryan pick, I don’t disagree with your overall consensus.  When 2011 came to an end, Zack Ryder – and all those that were emotionally invested in his ascension up the ladder – was on top of the world.  He was a self made man.  Somebody who defied the odds and seemingly found himself a relatively high placement on the card.  He went from never appearing on Raw to being one of the most over guys in the company to being the United States Champion.  As 2012 was approaching, Ryder was a central figure on Raw (as one of the few Superstars that directly feuded with Johnny Ace) and was regularly interacting with top stars.  And then 2012 happened.

While certainly not the ideal situation, things didn’t seem all that bad.  For example, his US Title reign was cut short – but he was super protected when he lost (taking Swagger’s finisher numerous times, and the later revelation that he wasn’t even cleared to compete).  And he was the face-in-peril in the featured storyline dealing with the biggest star on the flagship show.  However, Jack Swagger just as quickly dropped the title to Santino Marella (who did get a five month reign with the gold, despite being a similar comedy character) and Ryder went from face-in-peril to damsel-in-distress.  And things only got worse.  While he did get a WrestleMania match, it was in the token “fit everybody on the card” match.  And for storyline purposes, Teddy Long only settled to have him on the team so that he could get the Great Khali.  And he ate the pin.  Against the Miz.  Who was in the midst of a losing streak storyline.  Slowly but surely, Ryder returned to his role as a glorified jobber, decisively losing to anyone from Alberto Del Rio to a debuting Damien Sandow.  He even stopped appearing on Raw on a regular basis, being completely left off of shows that would guarantee a huge reaction.  Sure, there were signs of life (like his July 4^th Smackdown battle royal win, or his Night of Champions pre-show battle royal win and PPV title shot), but overall it was a massively disappointing year for Ryder, when things seemed so promising when the year began.

So why did I go with Orton, then?  Quite simply, I feel like Orton’s drop was further and more significant.  Orton has been in the main event scene for close to a decade.  He’s a nine time World Champion.  And 2012 was honestly the first year that he was a complete and utter afterthought.  And it was the first time since 2007 that he went a calendar year without a World Championship of any sort.  In my view, that’s a lot worse than things not working out as great as you thought they would.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Breakout Star of the Year

BREAKOUT STAR OF THE YEAR

My Pick:  AJ Lee

Despite being a huge AJ Lee fan, I struggled with the decision of who should get this award.  While I did settle on my gut feeling – AJ Lee – strong arguments could be made for Ryback, Antonio Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, and even the Shield.  And, truth be told, the expectations and upside for male Superstars vary greatly from your female Divas.  I mean, it’s difficult to measure AJ’s near year-long placement at the top of the card with Ryback, for example, who spent only a couple months at top – however, they were in highly featured PPV matches for the WWE Championship.  But as 2012 came to a close and you look back at the past 12 months, has any new face been as much of a fixture as AJ Lee? 

When the year began, she was a mere plot device in a relatively underwhelming storyline between Daniel Bryan and the Big Show.  It seemed like she was simply a foil to help progress Bryan’s heel turn.  What ended up happening, however, was the biggest Divas push we’ve seen since the glory days of Trish Stratus and Lita – a level most of us thought would never happen again, in this era of rotating Divas sporadically wrestling in two minute matches.  Her role in Daniel Bryan’s rise to the top is immeasurable, leaving fans angered and confused when they were abruptly broken up following WrestleMania.  However, since then, AJ has taken one story after another and helped make it into a main event storyline.  Her breakup with Daniel Bryan segued into a love triangle with CM Punk (and later square with Kane).  Everybody initially assumed that it would lead to AJ turning on Punk to reunite with Bryan, but instead we got a multi-month WWE Championship feud that focused primarily on each competitor’s relationship with AJ.  That moved onto AJ getting “promoted” to the position of General Manager of Raw (which meant that while she arguably appeared in less segments, the overall presence of her character expanded greatly).  And finally, that progressed to a legitimate main event feud alongside – and then against – the face of the company John Cena.  And there’s no sign of this ship slowing down.

Aside from John Cena and CM Punk, has ANYBODY sustained a longer and more consistent run at the top of the card than AJ Lee?

What You Said – Daniel Bryan

This is our first (but not last) disagreement.  While Daniel Bryan had an awesome year, my issue with giving him this award is that (a) his ascension really happened at the end of 2011, and (b) he was actually higher up on the card a year ago than he is today.  While that second point can be disputed, the fact of the matter is that by the end of 2011, Daniel Bryan was the World Champion who was winning almost all of his matches by nefarious or cheap means.  Now he’s one half of the tag team champions (or THE tag team champions, depending on who you ask) and the one who almost always eats the pin when the team loses.  And while it’s not really focused upon, he does lose nearly every single one of his singles matches.

Having said that, you simply cannot dispute the awesome year that Daniel Bryan had.  This is a guy who made lemonade out of lemons – a guy who VERY EASILY could have taken the same path as Zack Ryder, but forced the company to take notice.  When he dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus at WrestleMania (in an 18 second opening match), it seemed like his tenure in the main event had come to an end, made evident by the fact that they immediately announced that Alberto Del Rio had been named the next challenger to the World Heavyweight Championship.  However, the “YES!” phenomenon forced the company to rethink their plans.  He earned a rematch at Extreme Rules, and was quickly inserted into a multi-month feud for the WWE Championship (a promotion, most would argue).  He’s now a fixture on Raw and Smackdown and pretty much guaranteed a spot on any PPV.  He’s easily become one of the most over and entertaining people on the entire roster.

However, because of the fact that I don’t personally think he’s in a much better position than he was at the end of 2011, I can’t consider him a “breakout” star.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Superstar of the Year

SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR

My Pick:  CM Punk

No surprise here.  The sad thing is, though, that it’s not as if CM Punk even had this phenomenal year.  It’s just that everybody else has had such a forgettable or lackluster one.  So while this was a blowaway victory for Punk, it may have been for all the wrong reasons.   Then again, Punk’s year shouldn’t be sold short.  No matter what the circumstances, holding the WWE Championship a full calendar year – a feat that has not been achieved since 1987 – is an amazing achievement.  And while he may not have main evented a majority of this year’s Pay-Per-Views, his matches were almost assuredly match of the night contenders.  And between Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, and Daniel Bryan, fans were awarded WWE Championship PPV matches that most of us probably never thought we’d get to see.  And unlike Punk’s other World title reigns, he actually go to win his championship matches cleanly and convincingly.  He may not have been treated as THE star, but he most definitely was treated like A star – something that has been sorely missing during his other runs at the top.

And while certain stories weren’t home runs – his heel turn got off to a rough start, and the substance abuse story that centered around his feud with Jericho was a bit off putting – Punk did take part in some of the most enjoyable and memorable stories of the year.  In particular, I am referring to this summer’s Punk/Bryan/AJ/Kane love affair (a story which benefited everybody involved).  And once his heel turn found its footing, Punk let loose and has emerged an even bigger star.  The show focuses on him more than it ever has.  His promos have been top notch.  And there’s a certain level of passion and fire that was missing during the earlier part of 2012.  The fact that CM Punk has been WWE Champion for well over 400 days and fans aren’t desperate for a new champion is a testament to his greatness.

What You Said – CM Punk

Much like last year, CM Punk was my pick AND your pick for Superstar of the year – but he didn’t earn 100% of the vote this time around.  This year, Punk walked away with 69 (HA!) percent of the vote, with Daniel Bryan coming in second with 25 percent.  While Bryan had a much better year than he probably had any right to (more on him later, though), I really don’t think he surpassed Punk.  Both guys had phenomenal matches.  Both guys were put in situations where they were forced to make lemons into lemonade.  And both basically forced the company and its figureheads to take them seriously and give them the attention they deserve.  At the end of the day, though, Punk simply achieved greater success.  While Daniel Bryan is part of an extremely entertaining comedy duo, Punk is being pushed as a dangerous – albeit somewhat cowardly – threat to WWE’s top babyfaces.  He’s had to overcome some political and creative hurdles, but Punk has been presented as one of WWE’s top Superstars – defeating every single challenge that’s come his way.  And the list is pretty hefty – Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, Chris Jericho, Kane, John Cena, Ryback, the Big Show, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Jerry Lawler, Rey Mysterio, and yes, Daniel Bryan.  Main event positioning or not, this year belonged to Punk.

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Top Ten Cases: WWE 2012 Year-End Awards - Introduction

It's January 15th which means we're halfway through the first month of the new year -- so this seems as good a time as any to kick off this yearly installment of Top Ten Cases.  I'll be posting my pick and your pick for each of the year-end categories I asked you to vote on over the next 10 days.

I owe a big "thank you" to Mr. Scott Keith, who was kind enough to post a link to my survey on his blog.  As a result, an astounding 263 people voted -- such an overwhelming amount that I can actually only analyze the first 100 votes under my "basics" account.  And unfortunately, I'm not willing to spend $17 to upgrade in order to view those other 163 votes.  So we're going to have to assume that those first 100 are a fair representation of the whole group.  But a genuine thank you for all those that participated.

So anyway, check back tomorrow as I post reveal the Superstar of the Year.  And trust me, you'll be surprised!  No....no you won't.

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VOTE NOW! WWE 2012 Year-End Awards

Happy New Year, everybody!  I hope you all had a fun, but safe and responsible, conclusion to 2012!

It's become a bit of a yearly tradition for the blog, but the time has now come for me to ask you to vote in my 2012 Year-End Awards!  It's a fairly quick, 10 question survey.  I'll keep the voting open for a couple of weeks, and will begin posting the results at the middle of the month.

Kindly spread the word as well.  The more votes, the merrier!  Thanks!

VOTE NOW!!  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6PSJZ8G

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REPOST: Top Ten Cases: WWE 2011 Year-End Awards

The new year is almost upon us which means I’ll be once again doing my WWE year-end awards.  So check back on January 1^st for the survey so that your voice can be heard as well.  But before I do that, I thought it’d be fun to look back at the 2011 Year-End Awards and see how we did with some of our predictions.

SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR

My pick: CM Punk; Your pick: CM Punk (100%)

This one was a no brainer – even more so considering that the year ended with CM Punk winning the title in the main event of a PPV.  I think most people conceived that things would have continued along that course.  Having said that, I think people from 2011 would have been disappointed with the first half of Punk’s 2012 – wrestling in a title match at WrestleMania that wasn’t even promoted as a featured bout and not main eventing a PPV until, I believe, August.

BREAKOUT STAR OF THE YEAR

My pick: Zack Ryder; Your pick: Zack Ryder & Dolph Ziggler (33% each)

This was probably the biggest heart breaker.  Again, the year ended GREAT for Zack Ryder.  He was mega over and finally captured the US title.  It seemed like he was finally accepted by the front office and that he might break through to even better things.  Now he’s in a MUCH worse place than he was a year ago today, and only in a slightly better place than he was before the revolution began (because he at least usually appears on Raw).  Dolph Ziggler, while having a great year, was overall pretty stagnant.  I’d say he’s in a slightly better spot than he was a year ago today, but not by much.

SUPERSTAR WITH THE MOST DISAPPOINTING YEAR

My pick: John Morrison; Your pick: John Morrison (50%)

This award already provides us with the luxury of hindsight, so there’s not much to add to this.

SUPERSTAR MOST POISED FOR A SUCCESSFUL 2012

My pick: Dolph Ziggler; Your pick: Dolph Ziggler & Sheamus (33% each)

I’d say, between Sheamus and Ziggler, you’d have to favor Sheamus.  He won the Royal Rumble, won the World Heavyweight Championship in record time, went on to have a lengthy reign with the gold, and always looked strong.  His only downfall was the fact that the World Heavyweight Championship was an absolute afterthought for the entire year (even more so than the prior year).  And while Dolph had a really great year, I think I might even say Daniel Bryan (another option for that category) had a more successful 2012 than he did.

MOST SHOCKING STORY OF 2011

My pick: The Summer of Punk; Your pick: Edge retires (44%)

Again, we already had hindsight here, so there’s not much to add.

BEST SHIFT IN CHARACTER

My pick: Mark Henry; Your pick: CM Punk & Mark Henry (44% each)

The irony of this particular award is that Mark Henry had a pretty forgettable 2012.  He spent much of the time either injured or jobbing to Sheamus.  And Punk ended up reverting back to his heel character halfway through this year.  So neither character really “stuck” for the entire year.

SUPERSTAR MOST NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY SOCIAL MEDIA

My pick: Matt Hardy; Your pick: Matt Hardy (62%)

And now he’s pretty much irrelevant (and certainly NOT an “Extreme Legend”).

GREATEST STORYLINE FUMBLE

My pick: Anonymous Raw General Manager; Your pick: Anonymous Raw General Manager (55%)

Not much to add.

WILL THE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP BE REDESIGNED IN 2012?

My pick: No; Your pick: Yes (66%)

Haha, I was right!  Despite MANY logical opportunities (Punk’s heel turn, the 1,000^th Raw, Punk’s one year anniversary) and rumors of a new belt actually being created, they resisted the temptation to redesign their top championship.  Sadly.

WILL THE WWE NETWORK LAUNCH BE A SUCCESS?

My pick: Yes; Your pick: Yes (88%)

We were all wrong here.  While it still remains to be seen whether the WWE Network will be a success (I still think it has a significant upside), the implication of the question was that the network would launch in 2012.  And it did not.  So I have to say that we were all wrong on this one.

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