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Realizing that I offered 10 categories for you to vote on for my Year-End Awards, I thought instead of revealing the results in one exceptionally long post, I'd draw it out over 10 days in the latest edition of Top Ten Cases. Today, I reveal my pick (and your vote) for the Superstar with the Most Disappointing Year.
My Pick: Kofi Kingston
This was perh
aps the hardest decision for me to make, because there were so many different ways of thinking. While Kofi Kingston didn’t have an outwardly bad year – he likely won more than he lost, and he participated in virtually every main PPV – but the expectations were so high for him at the end of 2009, and he came nowhere near achieving that level this past year. Last year I indicated that I felt WWE was showing respectable restraint by not putting the title on Kofi immediately (like they did with Sheamus), instead doing a slow burn that would build up his win thus making it more significant and special. Well, things REALLY slowed down for him in 2010, and at one point it felt like he might be left off of the WrestleMania card altogether. Things have picked up for him following this summer, but overall it doesn’t seem like he gained any ground from where he was a year ago.
What you said – Ted DiBiase
Ted DiBiase earned 50% of the votes, with CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, and Zack Ryder (as a write in) also earning votes. While I was a little surprised that DiBiase earned so many votes, I can also understand the argument. As 2010 kicked off, Legacy was imploding and it seemed as if a DiBiase face turn was in the cards (and based on his initial matches with Orton, it seemed like the crowd might really get behind him). However, instead the fans began siding with Orton, which resulted in it being a mega year for the Viper. Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes moved over to Smackdown and reinvented himself to very positive results. DiBiase, meanwhile, sorta floundered. The use of the Million Dollar Man gimmick and the reintroduction of Virgil seemed promising, but ended up not really going anywhere. And his pairing with Maryse has been a dud. It’s actually difficult to see what 2011 has in store for DiBiase. A face turn? A heel United States run? More jobbing? It’s tough to say.
2 comments:
I voted for DiBiase, and I'll tell you why. Kingston, at the start of the year, was in that big program with Randy Orton (or just coming out of it...I forget) and looked like he had big things in store for him. Instead he ended up back at the IC level, only just now winning it. Disappointing? Absolutely.
DiBiase, well, he was thought of as the guy with more potential out of Rhodes and Orton. It's not necessarily that anyone was expecting him to win the world title this year, but I expected him to at least be on the US title/IC title level. Instead, he not only isn't on that level (and really, only flirted with it briefly when he wrestled Bryan and got convincingly beaten every time), but it doesn't even look like he'll have a job. I mean, he probably will, but the way they're booking him you wouldn't know it. He's just constantly losing, to everyone, convincingly and quickly. He went from "Potential future main eventer" to potential fry guy at McDonalds in a year.
Kyle,
Part of the reason why this category was so hard for me was because there are so many ways of looking at it. When you're trying to determine who had a disappointing year, do you compare it to where the person was a year ago (in which case, DiBiase is a great pick) or do you compare it to the expectations everybody had that were not fulfilled (in which case, I lean towards Kofi). It's a matter of perspective, and you're certainly not alone in your view, based on the general feedback of those that participated.
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