For the category of "The Biggest Surprise On Nitro", the nominees are:
And the winner is: DDP defeating Macho Man dressed as La Parka. This was so shocking, I imagine that people all around the country were jumping up and down pointing at their screens, screaming "It's DDP!". While the Nipple On Nitro shocked everyone, especially the owner of the nipple, not that many people noticed it. As for the return of Disco Inferno, it was pretty cool, but there were rumors all over the Net about it.
For the category of "Biggest Letdown", the nominees are:
And the winner is: The non-title match between Piper and Hogan at Halloween Havoc. It wasn't even left vague, it was officially reported in some places that the match would be for the title. For many of us, we watched the pay-per-view thinking we had witnessed history, only to later find out the rules had changed. As for the other two items, my expectations weren't that high to being with.
For the category of "Most Gratifying Moment", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Glacier jobbing to Bill Goldberg. This one was a squeaker, as Rey not losing his mask was a close second. I don't think there were a whole lot of people that really wanted to see Rey lose his mask. As for Bischoff getting chokeslammed, the thing I enjoyed more than the chokeslam was Giant giving Larry the "Larry Salute" after being handed Bischoff.
For the category of "Biggest Non-screwjob Upset", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Bill Goldberg beating Hugh Morrus. This was a squeaker, but Goldberg's first victory on Nitro came out of nowhere, and was a shock. The shock value of the Faces Of Fear is mitigated slightly by what genuinely tough guys both Meng and Barbarian are. However, due to the fact the Steiners never cleanly job, they almost won the award.
For the category of "Most Emotional Moment", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Arn's retirement. This was a no-brainer, as I really had to reach for the other two, and they aren't even legit.
For the category of "Most Overrated", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Glacier. Jarrett would have pulled this one out if not for a shoot interview I saw with him on RAW where he was extremely articulate and actually gracious to a number of his former WCW co-workers. Plus, Glacier actually having some talent mitigated this a little bit. As for Mongo, he has improved a lot.
For the category of "Most Underrated", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Juventud Guerrera. Many of you are probably surprised that Benoit didn't win this. I felt Benoit shouldn't win because most serious fans do recognize Benoit's talent. Now, Silver King is good and he is building a cult following, but Air Juvy got the nod here. If you watch some of the moves that Juvy does, he blows Misterio away. His 450-splash is incredible and I'm pretty sure he invented the suicide dive through two ropes. The only thing that is holdiing him back in the business is his lack of English interviewing skills.
For the category of "Most Universally Despised", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Hacksaw Duggan. Glacier came in third because a number of people into the martial arts do respect him and he is, legit, a nice guy. As for Hogan, say what you want, but his name on the card will fill a house. As for Duggan, I will admit that I have an eight-year-old foam two-by-four in my closet, but I don't think anyone was upset when he "retired" a few months ago.
For the category of "Most Universally Respected", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Chris Benoit. This one was easy. Booker T. may be a suprising nominee at first, but I get a lot of positive mail on him, and nothing negative. And, his winning of the TV Title on 12/29 shows that the powers that be do recognize what a great worker he is. As for Heenan, everyone loves a drunk buffoon.
For the category of "Best Theme Music", the nominees are:
And the winner is: La Parka.
For the category of "Worst PPV", the nominees are:
And the winner is: nWo Souled Out. This one was a no-brainer. Although the major angle of Uncensored, "nWo challenging for any title on any card" turned out to be a dud, like my girlfriend said, "At least they didn't have Flair in a dress". Halloween Havoc, with it's "fan" jumping the railing rates up there, although it was a good show if you were in the arena. nWo Souled Out was bad for everyone. A "heel" referee which tainted every match on the card, a "beauty contest" that fell completely flat, and a screaming band that just sucked. And, to top it all off, Scott Steiner screaming "F*** you, too!" at someone in the crowd.
For the category of "Most Interesting Match On Sunday {Pro}", there are:
Sorry, Chan and Charlie.
For the category of "Biggest Screwup Of The Year", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Okerlund blowing the shock value of Arn Anderson's return.
For the category of "Worst Idea Of The Year", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Piper's Family. This one was closer than you might have initially thought. Disco Inferno dropped out of contention after someone let me know that Disco Inferno lost to Jacqueline multiple times in the USWA back in 1993. As for nWo Nitro, at least it got a reaction...that being people switching the channel to USA Network.
For the category of "Most Misused", the nominees are:
And the winner is: The Giant. Raven's Nest dropped out of contention when they started doing something besides sitting around and looking sullen. As for Lex Luger, it's amazing how the emergence of the nWo threw him into the status of a minor player. With his history and credentials, he should have a bigger role. However, The Giant is so totally lost in the shuffle right now. This is a guy who completely squashed Ric Flair on Monday Nitro to win the World Title. I don't think Flair's been squashed like that in the last 20 years. Since then, he's been pushed down to Lex Luger status.
For the category of "Best Ring Entrance", the nominees are:
And the winner is: La Parka. You just can't beat a guy who air guitars a chair, does a strut, hops around on one leg, wobbles his knees, and then screams. Now, that's a ring entrance!
For the category of "Match Of The Year", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Harlem Heat vs. Public Enemy at Uncensored. While the DDP/Savage match had great shock value, the wrestling was nothing to speak of. Many people will probably feel that Rey and Eddie should take this award, as they saved the card at that pay-per-view. However, don't forget the garbage cans, cookie sheets, and, my personal favorite, toilet seats. The announcers were in legitimate hysterics during the match, with Dusty exclaiming after Stevie Ray blew up: "They done laid his tired ass out! Oh, excuse me at home, folks..." What really put this match over the top for me was later reading an article in Pro Wrestling Illustrated that was critical of the announcing team for laughing when wrestlers were attacking each other with weapons. Puh-lease!
For the category of "Line Of The Year", the nominees are:
And the winner is: Ric Flair to Syxx. I still can't believe he said that on live TV.
Well, that's it. If you don't agree, I hope you at least found it entertaining. You may want to check out the tally of win-loss records for 1997. The notables: