Top Ten Cases: WWE 2010 Year-End Awards - Most Entertaining Program

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 Most Entertaining WWE Program.

My Pick: Raw
As somebody who has favored the Smackdown brand since the first day of the brand extension, it’s rather significant for me to side with Raw here. But quite simply, Raw owned this year, and despite the flack that WWE consistently receives, they churned out some mighty fine gems this past year.

First and foremost, you had the enthralling Nexus storyline. While the booking was far from perfect, it had people interested and, even more important, viewers were constantly talking about it. Fans were excited when things went well, and they were furious when something counterproductive happened. Considering the fact that Nexus and Wade Barrett dominated pretty much every potential category in this survey shows that this story genuinely caught the attention of the viewing audience.

Along with that, you had the rise of the era of awesomeness with the Miz. Things began modestly enough, with Miz holding the United States Championsihp. He then captured the Tag Team title as well, allowing him to appear on both shows (hell, he had so many championships that he had a belt around his waist and one on each shoulder). And finally, you had his Money in the Bank victory, which appropriately built to his WWE Championship reign by the end of the year. And while most people assumed that Miz would have the dubious distinction of being the first Money in the Bank winner to fail to win the title (I made that very prediction), the fans were legitimately behind the possibility of him winning. Do you remember that immense pop he received after he hit Sheamus with the Skull Crushing Finale on the briefcase? The live audience was ITCHING for him to cash in and win. And considering the fact that Miz repeatedly, convincingly, and cleanly put over the Hart Dynasty, Bret Hart, and Daniel Bryan, it’s a true testament that he was able to climb the ladder the way he did.

And while it only lasted a few weeks, you had CM Punk on commentary, and it was absolute gold!

What you said – Raw & Smackdown (tie)
It was dead even between the red and blue brands, which to me makes sense. While Raw may have had more spectacular moments, it also had some big time lows. It’s also worth noting that some of the most polarizing figures appeared primarily on Raw, such as Michael Cole (I’m aware he announces on Smackdown, but on Raw he’s an on air character as well). There’s also the anonymous GM, which I personally enjoy, but in a lot of ways a laptop issuing orders has become a bit of a punch line. And while the gimmick was scaled back significantly in the latter half of the year, the Guest Star portion of Raw turned off a lot of viewers.

Smackdown, meanwhile, consistently churned out some great matches. The show was also able to properly use a talent like Edge, who for no real reason floundered on Raw as the same heel he had been playing for five years, instead of the face character he had been developing before the Draft. Then again, we did also see the resurrection of the Undertaker/Kane feud, and an unnecessarily LONNNNNG Kane World Title reign.

So, basically, it was a mixed bag for both brands. I also personally really enjoyed NXT Season 3.


Check back tomorrow to find out whether the WWE and World Championships will be unified in 2011.