2010 WWE End of the Year Awards

With this being my first year of doing wrap ups and reviews, being the end of December I am going to hand out my awards for 2010 in the WWE.  I'd love to do all wrestling, but I don't follow ROH and I just can't handle watching TNA to make a judgement.  I'll just narrow to the brand that I follow the best.  After an awful 2009, I think the company bounced back finely for 2010.  It was an interesting year to usher in a new decade of wrestling and without further adieu let us get started.

Best on the Mic:
This award goes to person who shined when they had the microphone in their hand.
CM Punk
A pretty solid year for people on the mic, but I think when I sat back and thought about it I had to give it to Punk.  It all started good when he cut a promo DURING the Rumble match and he continued to shine as the Straight Edge Savior.  His promo on Rey Mysterio and his family was probably the best of the year.  I think what gives him the edge over the competition was when he was injured he did some commentary on NXT and Raw.  It gave him a chance to break away from the SES character and create a new dimension.  And it's hard to ignore his work against John Cena on the final Raw of the year.
Runner ups:
The Miz
He continues to improve every chance he gets.  He has the catchphrase and he really knows who to work a crowd.
Sheamus
I wanted to say John Cena, but you expect that from him at this point.  I enjoyed the from Sheamus this year, not the greatest ever but he is comfortable on the stick.

Best Team
With today's product being thin on tag teams and stables, I decided to combine the two for one award.
Nexus
Once you read the word stable you should of known what would be the winner.  Besides Barrett the group may not have the most polarizing members, but make no mistake about it they were a force and a huge story in 2010.  Barrett was the master manipulator and the star of the team, Gabriel was the best worker, and Otunga may be the opposite of Ricky Steamboat, he does have natural ability on the camera to act as the number 2 of the group.  They were a gang, a group of thugs and they got heat.  When you heard that music you knew business was about to pick up.
Runner ups:
Hart Dyanasty
Even though they been around a couple years, this was their breakout year.  They were a great tag team and had a great chemistry.  It's a shame that they broke them up early, but they had a great year nonetheless.

Best Heel
This goes to the superstar that produced the most heat.
CM Punk
The last couple weeks might have edged out this one for me.  Barrett might have the most fresh memory for everyone, but you have to remember how good Punk was the first half of the year.  His feud with Mysterio was one of the year's best by far.  And for the most part he did it on his own, sure he had the SES.  The SES weren't nearly as intimidating as the Nexus as a whole. 

Runner Ups:
Wade Barrett
No doubt Barrett boosted himself to main event status quickly.  His smug British attitude is one you love to hate and he was a master manipulator.  They did a good job on making him seem like a force too.
Sheamus
In a packed year of heels this man would have one certainly other years with what he's done.  He's not the manipulator like the above two.  And he isn't as good as a wordsmith as the other two, but he is a bully.  And he played that bully role better than any heel this year.
Best Face
To the superstar who the crowd paid to see give someone their come uppins.
Randy Orton
Surprise, the 180 that Randy Orton pulled was quite smooth.  Sure Cena sells the merchandise and sells tickets, but he's expected to do that.  Randy Orton got arguably just as good as a reaction to Cena.  He isn't your cookie cutter face either, he's all business.  He doesn't grab the crowd like Cena, but his RKO finisher is ultra popular.  For the most part Orton had an overall big year with a title reign to boot.

Runner up:
John Cena
Cena's saga with the Nexus put the crowd behind him nicely.  He did his job again as holding the company name on his shoulders this year.
Rey Mysterio
Smackdown's resident merchandise pusher had a big year in his own right.  In a heel heavy brand and with the Undertaker being gone for a majority of it.  Rey was the big hero of the blue brand.

Moment of the Year
This is to that moment wrestling fans will remember at the end of the year and beyond.

Bret/Shawn Hug
The first show of the year produced the best moment of the year.  It has to be this because months prior to this, it was unheard of that Bret Hart would return to WWE television and he did.  He came to peace with his differences and did something that I think he legitimately enjoyed.  His face to face showdown with his once real life rival Shawn Micaels was a great moment.  When they shook hands and hugged everyone got chills.  It was an image no one expected to see and at this point at both of their career and lives it came at a perfect moment.

Runner up:
HBK Has Left the Building
It wasn't the fanfare of what Flair had, but still a genuine moment in an industry most call fake.  Real tears were shed by HBK as he gave his farewell speech.  It's a great moment because just about everyone who watched wrestling at some point watched Shawn Michaels.  It's great to see him get the sendoff that he deserves and that's on his own terms.
The Nexus Debut
After the experiment and semi successful first season of NXT, everyone was asking what's next of these 8 men.  And in a peroid of the year when it seemed like nothing was ground break, the 8 rookies ran in like outsiders and destroyed the Raw set the crew and John Cena.  The havoc they caused looked real.  It created a buzz in the wrestling world and I would imagine that just about everyone that watched tuned in the following weeks to see what they were up to.

Story of the Year
This goes to the biggest story outside of the realm of the WWE writing.
Daniel Bryan is Fired... and then Returns
There were many excited fans when Bryan Danielson signed with the WWE, and they waited patiently.  He made his first appearance on the first season as NXT as a rookie who would be mentored by the Miz, and his name would be changed to Daniel Bryan.  That initially raised some eyebrows, but the dynamic of them two became a reason to tune in.  After a disappointing first season, he returned as part of the Nexus in their intial attack.  Then news broke that he was released.  Allegedly during the attack, he choked announcer Justin Roberts with his own necktie, violating the PG rating.  Many fans were upset that he never got a fair chance and never fulfilled his feud with the Miz.  Three months later at Summerslam he made a surprise return in the main event, prompting people to question if it was a work or not.  No doubt that was the biggest buzz of the year overall.

Runner ups:
Shawn Michaels Calls it a Career
This one overlaps in both inside and outside of the WWE realm, but many people's favorite wrestler calling it a career after so many legendary matches was something big.  Being wrestling there is a lot of speculation if he will return, being the nature of the business.  I think he's done and as time does it's thing, it will sink in that he is really done being the Showstopper.
The Monday Night Wars End Before it Starts
TNA decided to fire bullets at the WWE and claimed they were going to restart the Monday Night Wars.  Within one month they moved back to their Thursday time slot.  TNA has some of the right pieces to be a successful company, but their downfall is their obsession with being the next group to make Vince sweat.  It's almost as if they don't realize that they aren't as big as WCW was in it's prime.  They also don't realize that during the 9 years since Vince bought out WCW that his empire grew even bigger than it was in the 90s. 

Most Improved
This is for the wrestler who picked up their game from the year before.
Sheamus
At the end of 2009 Sheamus won the WWE title, but there were skeptics that he wasn't ready for the spotlight yet.  This year he proved that he was.  He had a high profile Mania match against Triple H.  He continued to get more entertaining on the mic and in the ring.   He was given a second reign which looked more legit that his first.  It was a tough call, but I feel comfortable with this pick.

Runner up:
The Miz
This man should have this award named after as he continues to rise even higher every year.  I was conflicted to give him the nod again as he once again upped his game.  The thing that held me back was that I expected him to get better in 2010 and he didn't disappoint.
Dolph Ziggler
Simply enough he went from being a mid card whipping boy to the reigning IC champ.  His character and matches improved and he looks like he got the confidence of management.

Rookie of the Year
For the wrestler who had an exceptional first year in the WWE.
Daniel Bryan
He might not be a rookie in the ring, but he is one in the WWE.  After an event filled year in his career, DB settled in and became a solo wrestler that delivers for the fans.  Just about every match he's been in he made look good.  I think this is the start of a special career, at least let's hope.

Runner ups:
Wade Barrett
A true rookie, considering entering the year no one knew who this man was.  From NXT rookie to being thrown in one of the year's biggest angles, it looks like we have a new star to watch for the next coming years.  Very good on the mic, but still needs some polishing in the ring.  Not that he's bad, but there is certainly room for improvement.
Alberto Del Rio
A later entry into the WWE cost him being ranked high, but in the couple months so far he has excelled. The only person of these 3 that wasn't in NXT.  He shown that he has all the tools to be a star.

Breakout Star of the Year
To the superstar that found a niche that made them a name that all fans know.  (Note: This is different from ROY in that this can pertain to all wrestlers.)
Wade Barrett
Daniel Bryan may have won the rookie of the year, but no one this year became a household name faster and better than Wade Barrett.  As mentioned before no one knew who he was when the year started and now he's a main event player.  There is certainly some debate about how his feud with John Cena should of been handled, but it should be considered that being in a 6 month feud with the companies top player is a big deal.  Any way you cut it, that feud has helped put him on his feet.  Making his fame from being a stable leader and in a Cena feud, I am excited to find out what lies beyond for him once he is on his own.

Runner ups:
Dolph Ziggler
Sure he has a silly name, but he's moved beyond the self introducing gimmick that was given to him post Spirit Squad.  He's survived being future endeavored long enough to prove that he's a credible worker and personality.
Alberto Del Rio
Much like Barrett, no one knew this name when the year started.  He's become a top player in the blue brand and was involved in some big matches with some big names.  I'm fairly confident that in 2011 ADR will being wearing some gold and maybe even the top strap.

Best Feud
For the best series of match ups between bitter rivals and enemies.
John Cena vs. The Nexus
This was the feud of 2010 without a doubt.  For the start of it, it looked like they finally found a force that John Cena couldn't deal with.  Of course the hero overcame and there was some questionable decisions concerning the direction of it, but it certainly had everyone's attention.  The Nexus is probably now the most hated group in the company right now and it's because of this feud.  And for what it's worth, it's still continuing to this day.

Runner ups:
CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio
A nice match up between two of the companies top workers.  CM Punk was great as a heel in the match and these two had some solid matches on PPV.
The Undertaker vs. Kane
It was hard to pick this one, it wasn't their greatest feud and they didn't have their best matches.  From a nostalgia standpoint it was cool to see them go at it again.  This time around Kane was made to look like the superior one too.

Best Worker
For the person who consistently entertained the crowd in the ring and did it regularly.
Dolph Ziggler
I have really become a fan of Ziggler this year.  He went from a joke wrestler to a contender to a champion.  And since becoming the IC champ he put on great matches regularly on SD and on PPV.  He made people want him to lose and did a great job in the important opener to warm the crowd up.  It seems that management are sold on him and I look for his stock to continue to rise.

Runner ups:
Rey Mysterio
Personal opinion aside, Rey is a great worker.  He was expected to miss a considerable amount of time, but then an audible was called and he was needed to stay and be the face of the blue brand.  There wasn't any noticeable signs of him slowing down and he wrestled every week on SD.
The Miz
This might raise some eyebrows, and I know that there is more talented people on the roster than the Miz.  But just watch him and watch how hard he is working to get better.  He is putting on some damn entertaining matches.  Every match and person he works with he finds way to make himself better.

Event of the Year
For the best overall card produced within the last year.
Wrestlemania 26
It didn't live up to the expectations, then again expectation were huge.  Bret/Vince was the fail of the year if I had that award.  But the main event was epic, both title matches were damn good, and most of the undercard was fun.  I think when it all stacks up, this was the best card, as a Wrestlemania should be.

Runner ups:
TLC
The last PPV of the year was a close contender of the best.  Almost every match was fun to watch.  Even the Divas match was excellent.
Night of Champions
My bias played a part in this choice.  Regardless from watching live I thought it was a solid PPV.  It was said that there was better ones, but I wasn't there live to see them.

Best Match
For the showdown that had us on the edge of our seats and had us feel like kids again.
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker (Wrestlemania 26)
I could write why this match was great, but I'll just say this:  Watch the match and see why.  Like a two part play, the curtain closed to a standing ovation.

Runner ups:
John Morrison vs. Sheamus (TLC)
I just got done with a discussion that involved this match.  It was great because it didn't focus on high spots but instead focused on the participants.  Just like the winning match, watch this one.
The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan (Night of Champions)
Yes, I can be blamed for being biased again, but this was a great match.  It could be argued that Ziggler/Bryan was better, and it was great.  This match however, was a culmination of a long feud and the emotion of DB getting the gold made it a fun match for the viewers.

Overall Best Superstar
For the superstar that had the best year of them all.
The Miz
This wasn't hard for me to pick.  He continues to silence his critics and did it in a big way this year.  2010 seen Miz pick up his game in the ring and on the mic.  He was in his first Wrestlemania and won on the big stage.  He won the tag titles, US Title, and WWE Title all in one year, a triple crown in one year.  He won MITB, he was in big feuds, and he earned a lot of respect.  As mentioned before the topping of the year was him winning the WWE Title.  The ball is in his court and it's up to him to watch him run with it, and I think he's going to continue to get better.

Runner ups:
Randy Orton
I think he edges out Cena, who is expected to be on top.  Orton successfully turned face and competes with Cena as the top face on Raw.  He dropped The Legacy baggage and had a run with the title.
Kane
His matches may not be classics during his run and his angle with Edge was hard to watch.  But Kane has been in the company for 12 years and prior to this has only had 1 day as champ.  He finally got his break as champion and held it for about half the year.  For that I give this nod to Kane, who deserves it.

And there is it, you can agree or disagree and you are encouraged to.  In the mean time I will continue to watch and next year we will see how the landscape has changed.