DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – 2006 Year-End Awards & Report Card
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 2:52 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #211

Welcome one and all to the 211th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Well, we have come to the end of yet another year folks. How time flies when you're having fun! I hope everyone out there had a great Christmas & your food consumption was not as great as mine. I actually lost 7 kgs (16 pounds) throughout 2006, but I have this sneaking suspicion that I may have almost put half of that weight back on in the past week alone. Damn chocolate... Anyone would think it was Easter!

Before I get into my final column of 2006, I would like to wish all my readers a happy, safe & prosperous new year. I would also like to thank my readers for all your support, thoughts, ideas & feedback throughout the year. Without you, there would be no 'Wrestling Menu'. And of late, it seems like there are more & more of you. My past 3 columns have averaged over 9,000 hits, while the email has been coming thick & fast over that same period. Once more, thank-you to all.

As per usual, I finish the year with my 5th annual 'Year-End Awards'. There is nothing too original or special about them. I feel they are simply the most obvious way to end up the year & salute those in the WWE who have either been terrific or terrible in 2006! Then in the 'Dessert' section of today's column, I will take a detailed look at how I felt the WWE did this year. Did they pass or did they fail? Did they improve or take a step back?

With the long 'Main' & 'Dessert' sections today, there will be no 'Appetizers'. So for the final time in 2006, it's on with the show.....


MAIN - 2006 Awards

Nothing out of the ordinary here folks. 15 awards & 15 winners. A short comment which, if I deem necessary, will include any runners-up. Please note that these are WWE exclusive awards, as I have not seen a sufficient amount of NWA-TNA this year to justify including that promotion in these awards. Just for memories & comparisons, I will include my 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005 award winners at the end of each award in brackets.

MALE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Edge - There were only 2 real contenders for this award in 2006 from a consistency viewpoint & it is no surprise that those 2 men feuded for a good portion of the year. I have decided to go with Edge over John Cena quite simply based on the better quality of his non-Cena matches throughout the year, especially his terrific match with Mick Foley at WrestleMania 22. While Cena may have wrestled more often on television than Edge, I felt that Edge's bouts shaded the current WWE Champions in quality (the highlight being his TLC match against Ric Flair early in the year), while Edge also took the advantage in various tag-team matches throughout 2006. (2005 winner: Shawn Michaels. 2004 winner: Chris Benoit. 2003 winner: Shawn Michaels. 2002 winner: Kurt Angle.)

FEMALE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Trish Stratus - While the rookie Mickie James & veteran Lita both made inroads into Trish's claim as female wrestler of the year in 2006, neither were large enough to snatch the award from the recently retired Canadian. Despite retiring before the end of 2006, Trish was not only the mainstay of the Women's Division this year, but she was also a huge part in seeing the division improve so much that I feel it has been the best ever year for the division in the WWE. Trish took part in 2 of 3 tremendous title bouts & her greater consistency over Lita & Mickie mean that she fully deserves the honor of being named my female wrestler of the year for a 4th consecutive year! (2005 winner: Trish Stratus. 2004 winner: Trish Stratus. 2003 winner: Trish Stratus. 2002 winner: Victoria)

OVERALL PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: John Cena - This award adds to the wrestling aspect, by including all other WWE segments. Many will believe I am having my cake & eating it 2 here, thinking that Edge should have won this award based on his excellent promos that ranged from having live sex to shooting close to the hip in terms of real-life facts. But I am a real believer that Cena's promos & interviews are significantly under-rated in helping out the WWE product. He predominantly brought intensity to ho-hum matches & feuds just from his promos, while his ability to handle so many different crowd reactions throughout North America was a testament to his workrate & loyalty. This was at it's most evident when he entered the hostile ECW environment in June & had a game of "Who wants my t-shirt?" with the ECW faithful. Cena even had time to make a movie for the WWE! (2005 winner: Shawn Michaels. 2004 winner: Eddie Guerrero. 2003 winner: Eddie Guerrero. 2002 winner: Kurt Angle)

TAG-TEAM OF THE YEAR: Paul London & Brian Kendrick - While this may seem a clear-cut decision on the face of it, I did consider teams such as Kane & The Big Show, DX and Edge & Randy Orton for their participation in higher profile matches. However, I don't think that the role played by London & Kendrick can be under-estimated, especially on SmackDown where the depth of the tag-team division was more even & consistent throughout 2006. Not only are these guys entertaining & exciting to watch, but they also happen to deliver quality matches at an often under-rated consistency. The clincher here though was the length of their tag-team title reign, which has lasted for more than half of the year. History suggests they will not go back to back next year unfortunately! (2005 winners: MnM. 2004 winners: Rey Mysterio & Rob Van Dam. 2003 winners: Los Guerreros. 2002 winners: Billy & Chuck)

MOST IMPROVED WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Johnny Nitro - Nitro becomes the 3rd second-year man to win this award in it's 5 year history! I won't say that he was a clear-cut winner here, nor will I even state that he has surpassed the top 2 wrestlers of his 2005 roookie class (Kennedy & Lashley). However, he thoroughly deserves it for not only entrenching himself in the midcard of the more talent-filled Raw roster, but also being able to step up to the main-event class when required. Seamlessly making the transition from tag-team to singles wrestling, not only did Nitro improve his basics throughout 2006, but he also became a more entertaining wrestler in the ring. Furthermore, while Melina helps a great deal, Johnny did take positive steps as far as mic work & charisma were concerned. (2005 winner: Batista. 2004 winner: Shelton Benjamin. 2003 winner: John Cena. 2002 winner: Edge)

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kenny Dykstra - As detailed a month or so back in my 'Rookie Rankings' column, Kenny has been awarded my rookie of the year award, as he is the 2006 newcomer that I believe will have the best medium to long-term future in the WWE. He edges out CM Punk by a whisker with the latter having a few more question marks as to whether or not his wrestling style will be fully embraced in the WWE. Kenny also wins out on the age & improvement factors seeing that he is so damn unbelievably young! (2005 winner: Ken Kennedy. 2004 winner: Carlito. 2003 winner: Charlie Haas. 2002 winner: Brock Lesnar)

DEBUT OF THE YEAR: Finlay - This award is predominantly used for newcomers from other established wrestling organizations, as opposed to rookies. Despite Dave 'Fit' Finlay actually being a behind-the-scenes employee of the WWE for a few years now, his decision to put the wrestling boots back on in 2006 proved a masterstroke. I was one of the many doubting the decision at first, but at the very least, Finlay provided excellent depth to a SmackDown roster not exactly brimming with quality. So much so in fact, that he is seen as a genuine World HeavyWeight Title contender at the moment. I doubt he will ever win that title, but have no problems at all with him challenging for it. (2005 winner: Super Crazy. 2004 winner: Nick 'Eugene' Dinsmore. 2003 winner: Bill Goldberg. 2002 winner: Rey Mysterio)

MOST UNDER-USED WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Shelton Benjamin - The award that no wrestler wants to win has just been won by the same man for 2 consecutive years. Following a terrific 2004, Benjamin seemed to be in the WWE doghouse for some reason in 2005, where he made many a visit to the B-Grade 'Heat' television show. All looked to be on the improve for Shelton in 2006, especially following another InterContinental Title reign with the help of his "momma". But things went downhill once more for Shelton & it seems like the WWE simply won't use him on Raw if he is not in some sort of role that attempts to improve his charisma & mic work. How about having a guy who can simply wrestle!?!?!? As 2006 comes to a close, it seems like a return to tag-team wrestling seems the best way forward for Benjamin, as he is once more teaming with Charlie Haas. (2005 winner: Shelton Benjamin. 2004 winner: Doug Basham. 2003 winner: Chris Benoit. 2002 winner: Tajiri)

MOST OVER-USED WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: The Boogeyman - Despite being injured & off our screens for a good portion of the year, I still have no hesitation in presenting this award to Old Man Boogey (aka Marty Wright). How the WWE allowed The Boogeyman to earn 2 clean wins over former (JBL) & future (Booker) World HeavyWeight Champions is beyond me! While Mike Mizanin is more his spot on the card, The Boogeyman is still being seen to dominate a feud & even when that is against a young up & comer, I see that as gross & incompetent overuse myself. (2005 winner: Orlando Jordan. 2004 winner: John Heidenreich. 2003 winner: Kevin Nash. 2002 winner: Ric Flair)

WORST WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: The Great Khali - The Boogeyman & Nick 'Mitch' Mitchell were contenders here as well, but I felt that I would respect the old man's & rookie's (strange) movement around the ring a little more! Sure, Khali is 7 foot 13, but that's not my problem! The former Giant Singh struggles to get in the right spot to take moves, while looking unrealistic & dangerous when handing them out. Huge kudos should go to The Undertaker here for making him actually look half-decent during a pay-per-view encounter, because I'm unsure if the WWE have even bothered attempting to do it again since! (2005 winner: Viscera. 2004 winner: Kenzo Suzuki. 2003 winner: Rodney Mack. 2002 winner: Jackie Gayda)

MATCH OF THE YEAR: London/Kendrick vs The Hardyz vs MnM vs Regal/Taylor (Armageddon) - I was all set this past weekend to spend about an hour watching Angle vs 'Taker from No Way Out & Cena vs Edge from Unforgiven. But following the recent Armageddon, I had to put aside a further half hour. And after re-watching the 3 bouts, I still found them hard to split. 'Taker vs Angle was the best pure wrestling match, but I felt the booking got a little carried away during the overlong finish. Cena vs Edge may have been the best mix of everything, but seemed to lack something. While the recent 4 team ladder match was exciting, but spotty. So to decide, I basically took off my critic's hat for a moment & just went with whichever I enjoyed personally the most. And for whatever the reason (maybe the spots, maybe the surprise impromptu nature or maybe the tag-team gimmick match memories), the 4 team ladder match came up trumps! Thoroughly recommended to those who missed it, this match was entertaining, exciting, action-paced, unpredictable & very memorable! (2005 winner: Michaels vs Angle - Vengeance. 2004: Benoit vs Michaels vs Triple H - WM20. 2003: Angle vs Benoit - RRumble. 2002: Michaels vs Triple H - SSlam)

FEUD OF THE YEAR: John Cena vs Edge - While there were other decent feuds that took place during 2006, I felt Cena vs Edge won this award hands down. It had all the makings of a great feud, but with a cherry on top. Beginning in the first week of the new year when Edge cashed in his Money In The Bank & became WWE Champion for the first time, this feud had intensity, anger & meaning from a storyline viewpoint. This played out perfectly on the mic, while also having the desired effect in the ring with a number of very strong matches, including one genuine match of the year contender. But that "cherry on top" that I spoke of which elevates this feud to potentially the best of this millennium is the fact that both men came out a whole lot better in all respects. Both Edge & Cena have undoubtedly improved all aspects of their wrestling & have helped solidify each other as genuine main-eventers for many years to come! (2005 winner: Eddie vs Rey. 2004 winner: Eddie vs Angle. 2003 winner: Lesnar vs Angle. 2002 winner: Vince vs Flair)

BEST STORYLINE/ANGLE OF THE YEAR: Mickie James Stalking Trish Stratus - While it's hard to look past the whole Cena vs Edge feud here as well, I believe there was a storyline that was better written & put together. And to make it more unbelievable, that angle took place in the Women's Division! While seeming similar to other stalking storylines of the past on paper, there was something about the performances of James & Stratus that made this angle extremely easy to buy into. Well-written & perfectly structured to peak around WrestleMania, this storyline then attempted to switch the positions of the women & continue the feud. While the latter part didn't work quite as well, it was sufficiently successful in doing its job & definitely didn't spoil the tremendous work that had come before it. This storyline arguably turned around the entire division on its own & the women haven't looked back since! (2005 winner: Batista's face turn & WHT feud. 2004: SSeries Control Of Raw. 2003: Heels getting Stone Cold fired. 2002: Bischoff debuting as Raw's GM)

WORST STORYLINE/ANGLE OF THE YEAR: The Boogeyman & His Worms - To be honest, I didn't see a traditional standout as worst storyline/angle in 2006, so I have decided to go for more of a gimmick angle that started & just simply hasn't stopped. That, of course, is The Boogeyman turning up practically each week on SmackDown & going through the same old shtick week after week. I'll admit that it was slightly entertaining in a grotesque sort of way back in January when JBL played off the role perfectly. It then started to get old come WrestleMania. But, despite an absence through injury, the same old thing is still going on here in December. It's like the same feud over & over again with simply a different heel to play off of. And possibly the worst thing about it all is that the result has been the same time after time; Old Man Boogey emerges victorious! (2005 winner: Terrorists accompanying Muhammad Hassan. 2004: The Kane & Lita saga. 2003: What occurred following Kane's unmasking. 2002: Jericho's alliance with Stephanie against Triple H)

PAY-PER-VIEW OF THE YEAR: No Way Out - Believe it or not, I rated 2 ppv's this year exactly identical (50/70 = 71). They were 'No Way Out' & 'Unforgiven'. But I'm not one for handing out ties, so I went back & decided that the winner would be the event that had the best (ie: highest rated) match. Both shows had their main-event rate a 9, while a midcard bout rated 8. But 'No Way Ou't earns the award with 2 other matches that rated a 7.5. The terrific Undertaker vs Kurt Angle main-event was well backed-up by Orton vs Mysterio, Benoit vs Booker, the under-rated & forgotten JBL vs Lashley & it all began with a sufficiently entertaining cruiserweight sudden death match that opened proceedings. To top it all, no match or segment failed. (2005 winner: One Night Stand. 2004 winner: Survivor Series. 2003 winner: WrestleMania 19. 2002 winner: SummerSlam)


DESSERT - 2006 Report Card

Actually, this won't be so much of a report card, as it will just be some general overall comments on the year that is just about to pass. This is actually the 3rd year that I have written this topic, but I remember being very much behind the idea last year. You see, at the end of 2005, there seemed to be a general feeling that the WWE had a bad year when it came to the quality of their product. Quite frankly, that was a bunch of codswollup & I couldn't resist in debunking that theory outright. I feel that I did so by reminding fans of many great television matches, as well as showing how PPV Ratings had increased by an amazing 6.3 rating points compared to the previous year!

So I thought that I may as well include this general summation of the year on an annual basis. The question that I like to base this topic on is: Have the WWE progressed in 2006, or have they taken a step back...??? I will answer it right here at the start & say that they have taken a step back. BUT I do want to footnote that conclusion by reminding people that 2005 was a hard act to follow & probably makes 2006 look a little worse than it truly was.

I think that the main problem that the WWE had in 2006 was the consistency of their television shows. This was especially the case with Raw, where you had no friggin clue what you were going to get from week to week. Earlier in the year, Raw would present a terrible episode then follow it up with a very good one. Consistency improved (in a bad way) mid-year when most Raw episodes were very ordinary, but thankfully they have improved of late.

SmackDown has been more consistent in that they have fought an uphill battle against injuries & depleted roster depth as best as they can. Over the past 3 months though, it seems as if head writer Michael Hayes has got it correct by going with the 'less is more' theory & booking episodes that frequently had at least 3 matches last over 10 minutes! Funnily enough, the much-maligned fledgling ECW brand hasn't done a bad job in filling their 1 hour timeslot. Don't get me wrong; It hasn't been sensational, but it's been sufficient considering all the circumstances.

The bottom line though is that the WWE product on free television in 2006 definitely couldn't keep up with the fairly high standard set in 2005. But how about what I feel is the best indicator of a year in WWE... How about on pay-per-view? Off the top of their head, people are going to spout out that the WWE had a lame year on pay-per-view, especially when compared to the very good year of 2005. But surprisingly, my PPV ratings show another story.

So, for the sake of proof (although my ppv ratings are indeed MY opinion when all is said & done), I am going to list out my ppv ratings for each ppv from 2004 (listed first), 2005 (listed second) & 2006 (listed third) side by side. This time around, I have listed all ppvs that took place in each year, including New Years Revolution & December To Dismember. Let's see how they compare, shall we.....

New Years Revolution: - (2004) / 52 (2005) / 57 (2006)
Royal Rumble: 58 (2004) / 74 (2005) / 54
No Way Out: 56 / 53 / 71
WrestleMania: 65 / 66 / 65
Backlash: 63 / 62.5 / 65
Judgment Day: 54 / 62 / 61
Bad Blood / One Night Stand: 63 / 76 / 65
Vengeance: 61 / 74 / 64
Great American Bash: 49 / 54 / 63
SummerSlam: 68 / 71 / 69
Unforgiven: 51 / 62 / 71
No Mercy: 66 / 64 / 63
Taboo Tuesday / Cyber Sunday: 51 / 60 / 58
Survivor Series: 69 / 67 / 67
December To Dismember: - / - / 54
Armageddon: 48 / 64 / 66

AVERAGES: 2004 = 58.7 / 2005= 64.1 / 2006 = 63.3

Well, well, well... Those results even surprise me! For the average 2006 PPV rating to get within 0.8 of 2005 is a really good effort. And that average discrepancy is cut to just 0.2 if you remove the inaugural 'December To Dismember' event that I over-rated if anything! Just looking at the PPV Ratings for this year, it appears that the WWE found a little more consistency with their events. From February's 'No Way Out' all the way through to October's 'No Mercy', the WWE had every single ppv rate above 60, with 2 of them getting above 70! This possibly distorts the overall quality of the year, with many of these mid-year events being rather safe shows that didn't set the world on fire, nor stink up the screen. But, at the end of the day, the figures don't lie!

To say that there is much to improve on for the WWE is an understatement. So much will rely on the 3rd brand for WWE; ECW. It was a risky choice to branch off into a 3rd brand & results have indeed been mixed. While ratings began well following a pretty good 'One Night Stand' ppv, they have gradually dropped off to only reasonable numbers. If they have bottomed out, then I can see the ECW brand continuing. If there is more of a fall to come, then the WWE may well have to scrap the brand & head back to the 2 rosters that we have become used to for the past 4 years..... Either that or raid Raw & SmackDown!

Despite 'December To Dismember' well & truly showing that there simply isn't sufficient depth on the ECW roster, this means just as much for the other 2 WWE brands as it does for ECW. SmackDown has fought a battle to hold onto its decent ratings after losing wrestler after wrestler. Can they afford many more losses? Furthermore, will some superstars (EG: The Hardyz & Johnny Nitro) get burnt out if they consistently have to wrestle on 2 or 3 shows each & every week...???

My annual annoyance at the cruiserweight division continues. I actually like the idea of having Gregory Helms hold the title for so long, but the division still did not get enough time & resources put into it. Nor were the talent involved in the division allowed to wrestle at full tilt to wow the crowd. This seems even more confusing now that the WWE have played their hand with the improving tag-team division. And thank goodness we saw a great improvement in the tag-team division towards the end of the year, because I was one of many that was practically writing it off for the first half of 2006. Furthermore on the positive side, I believe that the Women's Division had their best WWE year ever with 3 ppv matches right up there in contention with the best WWE Women's bouts ever!

So what do I make of 2007...??? Well, history tells us that I am quite good at predicting the quality of the upcoming year! This is what I had to say at the same time last year: In conclusion, 2005 was a very good year for the WWE. I stated at this stage last year, that things were looking good for the WWE. I guess that I sensed it correctly. But I don't quite have that same feeling about 2006. The next year has a lot of uncertainty about it, in my opinion. And yes, some of the errors that were made by the WWE in 2005 cannot be ignored now. If they are, 2006 will be a step backwards.

Well, you will be happy to know that I have a good vibe about 2007. Well, when it comes to Raw & SmackDown I do. The question mark is the ECW brand. If that goes down in flames, or has to raid the other 2 rosters to survive, then it could provide an unfortunate imbalance across all of the WWE. But in general, I think that 2007 looks good. The main-event on the Raw brand looks terrific with Edge's rise to prominence & Triple H's fresher face role sure to play a huge part in the new year.

SmackDown & their lengthy matches are going great guns at the moment & if they can figure out how the hell to book around Batista's in-ring weaknesses, then they should have no problems putting together a good product. I would actually take some midcard wrestlers off Raw & push them to the main-event on SmackDown to even things up. Furthermore, the Women's & Tag-Team divisions only need a hole or two filled & they can be more than useful to the overall product in 2007. So with a huge WrestleMania upcoming, I can see WWE really putting in the big ones to make 2007 a successful year!

But back to this year, I thought WWE HAD A SOLID (& UNDER-RATED) 2006 THAT WAS PLAGUED BY CONSISTENCY PROBLEMS WITH THEIR TELEVISION PRODUCT & THE FLEDGLING ECW BRAND. WHILE IT WAS A STEP BACK FROM 2005, IT WAS PROBABLY BETTER THAN THE 3 YEARS THAT PRECEDED THAT!


Okely dokely, that's it for edition #211 of 'The Wrestling Menu'. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm sure there is something in either my year-end awards or my report card that is right now annoying the hell out of you. Or maybe you think I hit the nail on the head with something I wrote today. Either way, please don't hesitate to send me your thoughts via e-mail. I'm always interested to hear your feedback & ideas. And you know that I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com, but if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=217&page=2.

I actually wanted to get stuck into my 2007 Predictions next Wednesday, but then I realized that the 'New Year's Revolution' pay-per-view was already upon us & I will have some PPV Predictions to do. That coupled with the fact that I want to include some reader feedback to my year-end awards means that my predictions for the new year will have to wait at least 1 more week. Damn this ppv that comes at such an awkward time of the year. Damn the WWE for trying to bankrupt me and/or keep me from buying more chocolate... Although, that may be a good thing for my gut, but that's another story. Anyway, the bottom line is that my weekly posting streak stretches to 15 months next Wednesday January-3, in the year 2007! As per usual, my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time on the same LOP channel. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.

A SAFE, HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO ALL





DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2006

Exclusive To LordsOfPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com











***DIRECT LINK*** Must SEE VERY HOT Pix of G4 TV's Olivia Munn! WHOA!!

• Quick Links -
  [Back to LOP] [News Archives] [Results] [Columns] [Forums]