World Wrestling Insanity:

Sandow, Rickard, and Ralph Pick 2005's Wrestler of the Year

By Sandow, Rickard, and Crazy Uncle Ralph
Dec 5, 2005 - 3:49 PM

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Question: Although there is still about a month left, at this point, who would you pick as 2005's Wrestler of the Year?

Eugene Sandow: My pick for the best wrestler of 2005 is Samoa Joe. It came down to Joe or Shawn Michaels, and ultimately it�s Joe by a pretty wide margin. Both Joe and Michaels were incredibly consistent this year, putting in top-of-the-line performances just about every time they stepped in the ring. What puts Joe over the top for me is his participation in two of the best North American matches of the decade: first, against A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels at TNA�s September pay-per-view, and then, only weeks later, against Kenta Kobashi at an ROH show in New York City. Both matches were awarded ***** by the Wrestling Observer, placing them in the company of only a handful of North American matches to receive the Observer�s highest rating in the last decade. Most impressive to me is that not only were both matches spectacular, but they were also completely different from each other, with the three way battle representing the pinnacle of TNA�s X-Division style, and the match against Kobashi wrestled in an almost unbearably stiff Japanese style. I�m not going to pretend to know much about Japanese wrestling, but I do know that I loved Joe vs. Kobashi and would rank it technically as the second best match of the year, right behind Joe vs. Styles vs. Daniels. In addition to these two classics, Joe had a number of other incredible performances in 2005:

1. Against Styles at TNA�s August pay-per-view, a match that itself was building into a classic and fell short only due to time limitations;

2. Against Jay Lethal at ROH�s Manhattan Mayhem in May;

3. Against Austin Aries at ROH�s Escape from New York in July; and

4. With Jay Lethal against Low Ki and Homicide in Chicago in August, a ****+ match that included the best and most brutal post-match brawl I�ve ever seen.

These are the stand out matches to me; really, just about any time Joe steps foot in the ring, he puts on an exhibition, and he�s my pick for the best wrestler of 2005.

Shawn Michaels is my pick for second place, mainly for his two brilliant pay-per-view matches against Kurt Angle, along with an excellent television match against Shelton Benjamin (who for his efforts has been relegated to enhancement talent) and for playing a human bump machine against the largely immobile Hulk Hogan at Summerslam. Shawn Michaels, almost a decade after suffering an injury that sidelined him for four years, is probably the best wrestler in the United States right now, but he did not receive as many opportunities to shine as had Joe (e.g., Michaels has been programmed with Chris Masters and Carlito, wrestlers who are hardly conducive to producing match of the year candidates), which is why I give the best wrestler nod to Joe. Michaels, however, with his twenty years of experience, can tell a better story through his remarkable selling (the final minutes of Michaels vs. Angle at Wrestlemania, with Michaels struggling to break free from Kurt�s ankle lock, were as fine as anything I�ve ever seen in a wrestling ring) and ability to control the crowd. Michaels is, quite frankly, the best in ring performer I�ve ever had the pleasure to see and is my pick for second best wrestler of the year.

Mike Rickard: Picking the best wrestler is never easy, even if you limit yourself to one federation whether it�s WWE, ROH, or TNA. I don�t get into wrestling outside of the U.S. too much so I am sure there are a lot of wrestlers in Japan and Mexico getting left out. Until they move here though, I won�t be watching any of them anytime soon and hope my fellow fans understand that I recognize the fact that there are no doubt, excellent wrestlers outside the U.S. but I just haven�t followed a lot outside the U.S.

Also keep in mind that this isn�t a question of who is the best worker of 2005. There�s a big difference between best worker and best wrestler in my opinion. Being a good wrestler is about more than workrate, it�s about the X factor that makes people want to see you wrestle whether it�s to see you get your ass beat or administer an ass beating to someone. Some of the best wrestlers in the world have been average workers while some of the best workers have been average wrestlers (although I think it�s a definite advantage to be a good worker). As much as ability in the ring should be prized, fans far too often equate in-ring ability with guaranteed superstardom.

Looking back at 2005, the world of professional wrestling is certainly not suffering from a lack of good wrestlers. There are veterans such as Shawn Michaels who still know how to steal the spotlight, guys like Shelton Benjamin who seem ready to break out to the top, and guys working in smaller promotions who are solid wrestlers despite being out of the public eye. To me, though, there can only be one winner though and that honor this year goes to Kurt Angle. Without question, our Olympic hero has had an amazing year in 2005 despite many people wondering when his next match would be his last. As the year wraps up, it looks like Kurt Angle is still going strong with no real end in sight.

Kurt Angle started the year off with his terrific series against Shawn Michaels and followed it through into a decent feud with John Cena. As tiresome as the Angle/Cena feud has become on RAW, Angle has kept it alive despite some truly banal booking moves by the WWE such as the �You Suck� censoring and Cena�s never-ending stream homophobic jokes. Angle has kept their matches interesting and made Cena look a lot better than he really is in the ring. Furthermore, Angle has kept the WWE from having to rely on Triple H to provide a foil for Cena. In between his programs with Michaels and Cena, Angle has entertained fans in a brief run against Eugene and some good matches against Shelton Benjamin.

While his amazing technical abilities are easy to praise, Angle doesn�t get enough credit for his work on the microphone. He can work comedy or drama equally well. When he wants to be a self-righteous buffoon, he�s dead-on. When he wants to play a bad-ass heel who will snap your ankle in a second, he delivers as well. Angle has an intensity that is hard to match and his versatility makes him the WWE�s number one guy in just about any situation. The WWE could get a solid run out of Angle as a babyface and they�re missing a great opportunity in not doing so.

Without seeming to fall prey to the sentimental vote, I�d give Eddie Guerrero a solid vote as a runner-up in the vote. He continued to be the perfect role of charisma and technical excellence throughout the year and before his untimely passing, he was slated for another run on top in the SmackDown! brand. No matter what the WWE did with him, he consistently put asses in seats, put on solid matches, and most importantly, entertained the fans.

Samoa Joe comes in third and would have rated higher if he had maintained some sort of solidity throughout the year. He anchored ROH in 2004 but was all over the map in 2005 (although he shined wherever he went). I think 2006 could be his breakthrough year if TNA continues to push him correctly as they�ve been doing up to now. If Joe becomes a main event player in TNA, he is a top contender for Wrestler of the Year in 2006, especially if he can perfect his promo ability.

Uncle Ralph: It's no secret that I love Samoa Joe (or Sammy J, as I call him because we're good close personal friends). The kid took the chop chop from the Coke Machine and rocked the house. For that, I like him.

He ain't my vote for rassler of the year, though. Nah. My vote goes to a guy who's improved himself in 2005 and none of you fans will give him credit for it! His name is Kane!

In 2004, Kane sexually assaulted Lita. He made her give him a Yankee Yankum, if you get my meaning. We all know that she digs the boom boom, but the monster man forced her to do it. So, she didn't like it.

Well, in 2005, Kane sexually assaulted...no one! No one! That's right. That's a hell of a turn around. We all know how hard that is to do. A whole year without sexual assualt? A whole year of not rubbing up against some woman in the cereal aisle at Shoprite? A whole year of not fake tripping over your own shoelaces and "accidentally" copping a feel on your son's art teacher at parent-teacher conference night? A whole year of no "Please, Ralph, stop grabbing my ass or else I'm gonna call the police?" That takes effort, boy.

So here's to you Kaney. Bottoms up, you big Red Love Machine. Make 2006 your year and go get you some hoochie mamas! Give Ralph a call when you do. You bring the chickies. I'll bring the car battery. And we'll both bring the booze!

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