The Triple Threat 12.31.06: The 32nd Edition

Posted by Sean, David, Alex on 12.31.2006

It's the Triple Threat End of the Year awards, come check out who won. Also what letter grade did we give RAW, ECW, SmackDown, and TNA for 2006? You have to read the column to find out.

Hello everyone, you know, most of the time I hate that our column has to be done on Saturday night because that usually means I can't go out that night, but for this week, I couldn't be happier because we are doing a special column this week. We are giving out our first End of the Year awards. Nine special awards given out to performers that exemplify a special aspect that span the spectrum of good things about Pro-Wrestling. Also, we give out our final grades on WWE, TNA, and Alex will be doing a special one on ROH. So, there is a lot of stuff to cover going into the New Year. As 2007 abounds upon us, what did we think about 2006? Read all about in this edition of the Triple Threat.



* The awards are going first, and then after the awards are our thoughts on wrestling for 2006 as a whole. David had to work and he couldn't write why he chose his award winners, however, he did list them for you. He and I, agreed on some of these, so I'll pick up the slack for him in some respects. David was able to send me his thoughts on 2006 so stay tuned after the awards too. *



Wrestler of the Year:


David: EDGE

Alex: "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. It was a close call between American Dragon and Samoa Joe for the "Wrestler Of The Year" award, but that fact that Danielson lost his title and went out with class, at the very end of the year, that was what made me go with AmDrag. He had an incredible year filled with stellar matches, and he seemingly carried ROH on his shoulders, wait… shoulder this year. He took on all comers from Austin Aries to Kamala. He had so many great matches to talk about, be it with Roderick Strong, Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuiness, or KENTA. With his great matches, solid promos, and because he is "Mr. Small Package," Bryan Danielson is my pick for Wrestler of the Year.

Sean: EDGE. Ever since 2001, I've been calling for WWE to do some with EDGE, who had been in a terrific tag team for the past two years with Christian Cage. Slowly but surely EDGE began to get a singles run and singles titles. He even got into an awesome feud with Kurt Angle, which led to Angle becoming the bald hero we all know today. As the year's went by EDGE started racking up wins at Wrestlemania and gaining tag team titles with other former World champions. Then last year he got a break, as the debate of the realness of this storyline continues, there is no doubt that the feud between Matt Hardy and EDGE, real or not, elevated EDGE to mega heel, and allowed him to be in position for the title. Finally, on January 8th of this year, in typical EDGE fashion, he got his first major title. He would go on to lose the title three weeks later, but at least he was able to hold it again later in the year. Now, EDGE along with Randy Orton finds himself Tag Team Champion in an interesting feud with DX. EDGE has come a long way in his almost 15 year career. EDGE is RAW's MVP, and you cannot deny the guy brings in ratings. Seriously, he was one of the few reasons to watch RAW this year, and he helped Cena keep his tweener/face status. Alex may hate my choice, but he just hates EDGE for silly reasons, the fact that EDGE carried RAW this year, should be enough for anyone to pick him, but everyone has their own opinions, and mine is that EDGE is Wrestler of the Year, period.



Women's Wrestler of the Year:



David: Mickie James

Alex: LuFisto. The woman I am giving this award to is one of the toughest individuals I have seen in the ring since I first saw the Necro Butcher. She won a "King Of The Deathmatch" tournament after defeating Necro in the finals. Most recently she took place in the Cage Of Death match, facing off against Lobo, Nick Gage, and *ugh* Zandig.

Sean: Lita. Many will probably disagree with my choice but I give it to Lita for being a trooper. Yeah Mickie James was the breakout star of the division this year, but Lita had to deal with making a character work that was the total opposite of who she really is. Lita is a private person and getting "slut" and "ho" yelled at you every telecast starts to get to you after a while. She also helped EDGE get over even more by playing her character well on television. While she may have been rusty in the ring, she also had to adapt to being a heel wrestler for the first time. She stuck with the company longer than Trish did because she knew they needed her to put over the division. Lita defended that title and kept some prestige on the title, while WWE prepared to use Mickie as the new face of the division. Finally, she did the noble thing and went out on her back, putting over Mickie James in her last match. Trish didn't do that, yeah she didn't need to put over Lita, but at least Lita cared enough to put the company first, even though she wasn't happy on her way out. I still won't forgive WWE for making her last night into a silly skit. However, Lita took it and now is at home. She did a lot for the company, and that's why she gets my vote.



Most Improved Wrestler:


David: Eric Young.

Alex: Jimmy Jacobs. Maybe his in-ring game didn't step up too many notches, but the character progression that this guy had this year just blew my mind. He had come along way from the "HUSS" kid with furry boots, to "Jimmy Loves Lacey," and now to the darker side of Jacobs. Also, the bump he and Whitmer took at the "Dragon Gate Challenge" deserves some recognition.

Sean: Bobby Lashley. When Lashley started he was raw and pretty much ordinary. He then began to learn from wrestlers like Finlay, William Regal, and King Booker. Not just about the wrestling itself, but how to use psychology in matches that allow you to get the story out to those watching. As his wrestling improved, so did his standing with the fans. At first, I thought his lack of personality on the microphone would keep him from being an elite superstar, in a place full of characters. However, Lashley proved us all wrong, just being himself, and allowing his wrestling to speak for him. He became US Champion this year because of his success. He also received a few titleshots. Then WWE shipped Lashley to ECW, to help a fledgling brand, and right now, Lashley finds himself ECW Champion. Who knows, if he does well on the third brand, he might become a big time champ real soon. Congrats Lashley, you have improved.



Tag Team of the Year:



David: Kings of Wrestling

Alex: LAX. It was a tough call in this one, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong had a great year, and the King's Of Wrestling had an excellent run. However, even as a gringo I had to choose LAX. In 2006 this team went from being a joke in TNA to being one of the top draws, once TNA gave them the ball they score a touchdown. LAX has given great matches, great promos, and one hell of a team. I think one of the keys, is that their gimmick is so believable. They hit some rocky ground this year when they were "stripped" of the tag titles for 3 days or so, but were able to bounce back. I don't know how strong their 07 is going to start seeing as how they are going up against Team 3D, but hopefully we can expect more of the same from Konnan, Hernandez, and ‘Cide great promos and great wrestling,

Sean: LAX. You mean me and Alex, agree on something? That's unbelievable. Actually, for this it really shouldn't be. I didn't pick LAX because they represent the Latino nation, I picked them because they were the best damn tag team this year. They went from being in a stupid feud with the James Gang to having a feud of the year candidate with AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, where they proceeded to have fantastic matches with each other. The team also rose through the ranks rather quickly and with that came the fans hatred. They were one of the few reasons I watched TNA, and they always seemed to do something impactful on each show. Whether you love them or you hate them, Homicide and Hernandez are two great wrestlers that together make one kick ass team.


Commentators of the Year:

Explanation: They don't actually have to be a Commentary team


David: J.R. & JBL

Alex: Dave Prazak & JBL.

Best Analyst: Dave Prazak to me made the ROH shows better, no offense to Gabe, but I didn't really dig his commentating. Prazak is extremely knowledgeable about the business and it really improves the overall quality of the DVD's.

Best Color Commentator:
JBL. well I don't watch much WWE, I watch even less SmackDown, but the few SmackDown's and PPV's that I have seen JBL has really surprised me with his great commentating abilities, he has been in the ring before so he brings that "wrestler's insight" but he also has a Heenan like sense of humor, this helps bring up the SmackDown announcing team, because Michael Cole has not, and WILL not, cut it as a wrestling commentator.

Sean: J.R. & JBL. J.R. is still the best commentator in the business, and I don't think anyone will deny that. Not to mention, he is one of the best guys at trying to find talent, that's still in wrestling today. JBL stepped in for Tazz about halfway through the year, and not only is he hilarious, but he's always right on with his comments. JBL really knows how to put over the talent on the microphone, and seems to, always know what to say at the right time.



Comeback Wrestler of the Year:



David: Finlay.

Alex: Sting. This was another tough one, seeing as how Finlay and Scott Steiner both had great comebacks this year. but the man in black prevailed. This year he help established name power in TNA, he put over Christian and Samoa Joe, helping them in the long run. He jobbed to Abyss, which was not made a big enough deal about. He peaked this year at TNA's biggest show ever, when he won the NWA title, yea I think he had an alright year.


Sean: Finlay. I don't think I need to explain why, the guy went from being the agent for the Women's division to one of the best wrestlers this year. Finlay was never a top guy in WCW and he came back to wrestling at age 46 in WWE and was able to get himself over by playing a character that wasn't too far from who he really is. Not only that, but he showed that he still has the wrestling skills to match anyone, and that's why Finlay is awesome. He was the darling of the King's court, and had lots of great matches this year. Not to mention he has a nice chance to be a main event player in the future. Alex makes a good case for Sting, but he pales in comparison to the Irishman.



Breakout Wrestler of the Year:



David: CM Punk

Alex: Davey Richards. Throughout 2005 I heard:
rumblings about this Davey Richards guy in PWG. Well 2006 was Richards' year. In his first ROH match, he defeated an ROH veteran in Jimmy Rave, by the end of the year, he was headlining shows for ROH. He wrestled stars like KENTA. Elsewhere this year he won the Super 8 and The Battle Of Los Angeles. He blazed quite a trail for himself this year, and I can only assume he will be an even bigger force in 2007.

Sean: Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy started off the year on the injured list, but he made an impact upon his return. We all knew that Kennedy had the mic skills, but he also showed he can do it in the ring. This year he went on to defeat five former World champions and toyed with the idea of going to RAW. He beat Batista twice, while Batista was hungry for the title. Currently, he finds himself in a feud with the Deadman that may be one of the keys to how well Kennedy does in the future. Kennedy had a big year and became a reason to watch SmackDown this year. As he says, he is changing Friday Nights, it may not be a quick change, but it's getting there because of him.



PPV or Indy Show of the Year:



David: Wrestlemania 22

Alex: ROH Supercard of Honor. This is one of my favorite wrestling shows of all time, I put it up there with the Super J Cup from 1994 and WrestleMania X7. This show gave me everything I could want from Indy wrestling show. It had great tag action, some hardcore stuff, high flying, a solid main event, and most importantly it had Chris Hero. Finally, the Do Fixxer Vs. Blood Generation match from this show…words just cannot do it justice.

Sean: Wrestlemania 22. Right before we got onto 411 we did a big review of Wrestlemania 22, I'd send you a link to it but it's way too complicated to look into our blog archives on our myspace. So I'll give you a quick refresher in case you needed it. There was the terrific Money in the Bank Ladder match that featured some crazy moments. I'll never forget David and Alex thinking Flair was going to win, and then Finlay knocked him off that Ladder saving the match for RVD. There was also my match of the year in EDGE vs. Foley, more on that later. Mickie James vs. Trish, which was great and the crowd totally going for Mickie made it even better. The HBK vs. McMahon street fight was fun, and that Ladder spot was crazy. I'll never forget Rey Mysterio winning the belt, or the crowd during the Triple H vs. Cena match either. All in all, it was a great show and my PPV of the year.



Match of the Year:



David: Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker (No Way Out)

Alex: ROH vs. CZW Cage of Death. This match has already been covered several times this week on this website, so I will spare a long explanation. Plain and simple this match had the awesome wrestling you'd expect from ROH, the sick bumps you'd expect from CZW, but it had as much drama and emotion as any feud/match you can come by today.

Sean: EDGE vs. Mick Foley (Wrestlemania 22). I had high hopes for this match going in, and they delivered big time. Sure, this will be remembered for the flaming table spot, but it was more than that. EDGE even took tacks bare back. The fact is these two gave it their all out there. They told a story in the ring, and Mick Foley finally had his Wrestlemania moment. EDGE showed that he deserves to be in the main event, and that he can still go in the hardcore arena. As he would show later in the year as well, but this match was awesome, I don't think I need anymore adjectives to describe this, see it for yourself, and pick up the Wrestlemania 22 DVD.



Our thoughts on Wrestling this year



David: RAW: RAW has really had a roller coaster year in 2006. We got to see John Cena lose the belt from a surprise a New Years Revolution, when Edge cashed in his money in the bank after Cena's Elimination Chamber win. I will never forget Sean giving me the call telling me that Edge won the belt. Edge and Cena feuded throughout the year, which was a pretty good feud because these guys have alot of chemistry with each other. RAW is Cena... well Cena and DX. Once DX started, things started going more downhill then it was already. Right before DX, we had one of the worst storylines ever where Vince brought God into the picture. DX, had their feud with the McMahons, which to me was stupid and a waste of time. We got to see them squash the spirit squad so many times it made my eyes hurt. Oh, and don't forget, they also squashed the entire tag division which was one of the stupidest things you could possibly do. Now DX is finally going against a real team, Rated RKO. This could be a good thing as long as the match is given time. We also got Cena vs. Umaga. Do I even have to say anything about this? Maybe I should talk about the good things that have happened. We got to see the reformation of the Worlds Greatest Tag Team, we got to see awesome matches between Nitro and Jeff Hardy and we got to see Edge win the title TWICE! It has been an up and down year for RAW, mostly down, lets hope things will shake up and get better in 2007. I give RAW a C+

Smackdown: Smackdown, to me, has had a pretty good year in 2006. We got to see a mid-card explode into greatness with Finlay, Kennedy, Regal, and Lashley. Benoit made his return and added some greatness to the mid-card himself with great matches with Regal and Finlay. Damn those head chops must hurt. At the start of the year we got to see one of the greatest matches of this year at No Way Out when Taker faced Kurt Angle. Best of all, we saw the rise of King Booker and how he finally got that gold that we always knew he deserved. Of course, there is things that just shit all over Smackdown. We had the Eddie Guerrero storyline last ALL YEAR, by far, that is the worst storyline ever and the fact that it continues sickens me. We have also had some of the worst wrestlers/characters ever become apart of the Smackdown roster such as the Boogeyman, the Great Khali, and Vito, the cross-dresser. Another bad thing about Smackdown is the fact that it can't seem to carry a tag division. Tag teams on Smackdown just come and go and it gives no competition to London and Kendrick. At the end of the year, it seems they are trying to create a tag team once more with Regal and Dave Taylor and the Rookie OVW team. Another thing that has happened to Smackdown was the return of the brothers of destruction, which to me kind of sucks because Kane is one of the worst wrestlers at this point, The last thing I'm going to touch on is the fact that Batista got his title back. Now I don't think Batista is horrible but I really don't think he's good enough to be the champ. King Booker was getting huge and they ruin his thunder by making Batista the champ. I just don't think that was a good move. All and all, Smackdown has given us some damn good wrestling and an interesting show each and every week. To me, its the superior brand of wrestling. I give Smackdown a B+.

ECW: I thought ECW started out strong but it didn't end well in 2006. At the start it had all the good ole' ECW stars of the past and even RVD as the champion. Soon enough RVD and Sabu got pulled over and an officer found drugs in their car which led to the WWE immediately stripping the title from RVD. ECW still lived on, now with the Big Show running everything. The show was still good, we had the youngsters and the originals battling it out every week, not really any storylines going on just wrestling. Soon enough storylines started occurring and made things just a bit more interesting and ECW got some fights on two of the big four PPV's. Now we were leading into ECW's first PPV, December to Dismember. With the new addition of Lashley coming into it, the brand's things seemed to look good, but once the PPV came, it when all down hill from there. The PPV was poorly planned and out of all the matches, only one was any good. We knew this would be Big Show's last PPV and everyone was excited about the Elimination chamber. The best two people got eliminated in the first 10 minutes and then the PPV finally died. After this we lost Paul Heyman himself and everyone just knew that ECW was going to fall even faster. WIth the rumors of RVD and a lot of the older guys wanting to leave it just seems like ECW doesn't have anywhere to go but down. There is one good thing out of this though. His name is CM Punk. CM Punk has gotten over so fast in ECW and it reaches far beyond that. It goes as far as Punk getting bigger chants then DX at Survivor Series. There has only been, good things from Punk and it can only get better. If WWE uses Punk to his full potential, we could very much have the next break out star everyone has been wanting since Stone Cold and the Rock. ECW might be dieing, again, but CM Punk will live on. I give ECW a D and CM Punk an A+++.

TNA: It has been very hard for me to keep up with TNA this year for the fact that I have to work every Thursday and I can never get out of it. From what I do know, TNA has had a very good year. The ratings have been going up, a video game deal, prime time, and better PPV buys. They even managed to get Kurt Angle. TNA is really shaping up and starting to become a contender against the WWE but they still got a long way to go. I'll let Alex cover the rest of this, he is the TNA guy anyways. I give TNA from what I've heard a B.



Alex: WWE: Well this year we saw seemingly no new stars made. The prior year of 2006 saw the arrival of Lashley and Kennedy, 05 also gave us the first title reigns of Batista and John Cena, fast forward 365 and we're seeing the same crap. This year breed no new stars, and pushed many great talents down. Carlito and Shelton Benjamin both seemed like they were destined for a higher spot on the card, but it was not to be. The tag team division on Raw was turned into a joke with additions like Cryme Tyme and the Highlanders. Triple H found a way to be on top without being world champion. Vince McMahon sunk to an all time low when he feuded with "God."

SmackDown started strong this year with Kurt Angle as their champ, he went on to have an amazing, MOTYC, with the Undertaker (I barely picked the COD over it). SmackDown then went on to have one of the most laughable champions in its history. I'm not saying Mysterio isn't an amazing wrestler; he just isn't a believable World Champion. Then SmackDown hit its high point of the year when King Booker won the title, this marked the era in which King Booker ruled the SmackDown kingdom and would slay any dragon that threat to take his throne. He had a great run as champ, only to lose to Batista. Hopefully soon the fans, and the E, will see that this guy won't last and doesn't offer much, if anything. Despite what some may say, I haven't seen this guy improve the least bit. The Tag Division on SmackDown was given a little more care and delivered some good matches.

Looking back the E didn't give us too many things of substance. They didn't give us much that will stand the test of time. In ten years I don't see too many people saying "Man I wish they would put the John Cena-Edge feud on DVD, or "they just need to put the whole DX-McMahon story on tape." While 2006 gave us CM Punk, Kurt Angle Vs. The Undertaker, The 4 Team Ladder Match, and put The World's Greatest Tag Team back together (watch for them to reinvigorate the tag division in 2007). It also gave tarnished the legacy of ECW and this year the E gave us Umaga, Cryme Tyme, The Highlanders, The Great Khali, "God", and more and more politicking. In review this would have been a great year for the E 10-12 years ago.

Grade For The Year: D

TNA: This company in mind mind grew more than any other this year and deserves the accolades of having the best year. That being said there were many flaws strung in with this success. This year began with the return of a legend in Sting, many wondered how much Sting would put into the company, and the most important question you ask when a legend returns, will he job/put people over? Well looking back at the year Sting did job to Jarrett and Abyss and put over Christian, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Ron Killings, and Rhino. Not that they needed it, but, it was cool that they had a legends stamp of approval. Moving on to the next month where Christian "finally won the big one," in what was a surprisingly solid match which culminated in one of my favorite moments in TNA's history, when the fans came in the ring and celebrated, to me that was just awesome.
During the time of Christian's title reign that feud of Sting-Jarrett stole the spotlight, which was a grave injustice, the world title should always be the focus, and Christian was having some great matches with Abyss during this time, plus it's the freaking NWA title, it should always be the main program. To make matters worse Christian was stricken with the same curse that John Cena has dealt with. The fans didn't take Cage seriously as a face, that wanted him to be that cocky bad guy, then they could cheer him because he's "cool," this really help with his heel turn at Hard Justice. TNA couldn't put too many more eggs into the Christian Cage basket so they gave the strap back to Double J.

Around this time AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels were having some excellent matches with AMW, TNA always had a strong tag division, but now it was looking better than ever, it was helping set the TNA apart at a time where the X Division was non-existent. It was also at this time when LAX was beginning to turn heads, and people saw how great Konnan was on the mic and how well, to much surprise, Hernandez and Homicide clicked as a team. TNA didn't have much choice on this one, I think the fans told them what to do, and now LAX is a vital part of TNA.

When Joe finally lost the X-Division title many, including myself, were thinking the X-Division was going to start a new and have awesome matches one after another, but all we got were more 4,5,and 6 ways that didn't mean anything, not only that, but none of the X-Divison seemed to have any personality. Enter Kevin Nash, I have heard this man referred to as the "Savior of the X-Division," and frankly I agree. TNA was smart to bring a new face into the X-Division who had a character. Austin Starr. Now I am as big of an Austin Aries mark as you can come by, but I love the Austin Starr gimmick and I think it has been the catalyst the X-Division has needed. These Paparazzi Production skits have shown the audience and new side of Alex Shelly, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, people who were always in great X-Division matches, but didn't have characters, so it made it hard to care for them in the long run. These segments have also helped Senshi's character; he's just a bad ass who doesn't mess around. In addition to all of this, the skits are funny as hell; I watch iMpact in anticipation of seeing the Paparazzi logo.
2006 was the year TNA reached its two biggest mile stones. Bound For Glory and getting on Prime Time. The Bound For Glory event was the most important show TNA has had, it its short history. Thankfully, it was a success, the building was a complete sellout, the buy rates were better than expected, and the wrestling itself was good. The main points that stick out from the BFG PPV, were the incredible matches that Senshi and Chris Sabin , and LAX and AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels had. Also Sting winning the NWA title was a great way to end the PPV. It also FINALLY ended the feud he and Jarrett were having that I thought would never end. Hitting prime time was a big step for TNA as it has helped them average and stronger rating than ever before, I do think Thursday's at 9 PM is better than Friday's and 3 PM.
TNA did one other thing this year that I should mention…they got KURT ANGLE. Without a doubt this was the biggest shock of the year in wrestling. Angle made an immediate impact, no pun intended, by having that very memorable face off with Samoa Joe, and having a great match with Abyss. For two consecutive months now Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe have made shockwaves in wrestling community for their great matches. While this feud was rushed, it has delivered. While TNA did do all of the great things, they did some incredible dumb stuff too. Let's take a second to reflect on VKM, the signing of Vince Russo, and who can forget the stupidity of that Jackass stuff. Well that being said, it was mostly a good year for TNA.

Grade For The Year: B-

ROH:

The year kicked off with the beginning of the ROH Vs. CZW feud, which would run through half the year, this was an awesome programmed that really got the fans involved and produced some amazing matches, this feud led to my pick for MOTY, the ROH Vs. CZW Cage Of Death match. This was indeed a highpoint, not just for ROH but for independent wrestling in general, but this was not the only success ROH would have this year.
2006 was the year that Ring Of Honor left US soil and traveled over seas for two shows in the UK. This tour of the United Kingdom set ticket sale records and the fans were not disappointed as they witnessed a classic between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuiness. In addition to the UK tour, ROH also had their "MileStone Series" this year, a series of shows that were all milestones in the company's history, including their 4th anniversary, their debut show in the ECW Arena, and their 100th show.
The tag divison in ROH was on fire this year, Generation Next were fighting champions in every sense of the word, they took on the ROH Legends The Briscoe Brothers, Blood Generation from Dragon Gate, and even their own GenNext teammate Matt Sydal. All things come to an end, however as the KING'S OF WRESTLING (*Clap*Clap*Clap-Clap-Clap*) dethroned the tag champs. The KoW were the talk of indy wrestling at this point, because not only were they ROH tag champs, but they also held the title in CHIKARA and CZW. It's my firm belief that they were going to have a lengthy run, but Claudio was signed to the WWE, and the KoW are no more. Their ROH tag title run was ended by the team of Matt Sydal and Christopher Daniels we will all have to wait and see what The Fallen Angel and Sydal have in store for 2007.

This indeed was the year of the Dragon. Bryan Danielson defended his title to anyone and everyone from anywhere. He defeated comers from CZW, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and of course Ring Of Honor. AmDrag defeated the fore mentioned Nigel McGuiness, Samoa Joe, Colt Cabana, Chris Hero, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Delirious, Sonjay Dutt, Jimmy Rave, KENTA, and others. Danielson built quite the track record this year, also consider that he has had an injured shoulder since August.
The year came to an end, with Homicide fulfilling his destiny as he won the ROH title on Saturday night December 23rd at Final Battle 2006, there isn't much more to say about this other than once again we will have to see how this plays out in 2007.

HONORable Mention:
-KENTA gave a lot to Ring Of Honor this year, and just taking time to pay respect.
- Jimmy Jacobs had more in-ring and character progression this year than any other wrestler that comes to mind, and I can't wait to see the next chapter in the saga of Jacobs.
-This was a break out year for Delirious, Matt Sydal, and Davey Richards all of them showed that they are here to stay and could become staples of the ROH roster.
- You can't talk about this year in ROH without mentioning the Do Fixxer Vs. Blood Generation match from "Supercard Of Honor
-Finally here are my picks of who to watch in ROH in 2007:
-Jimmy Rave
-Chris Hero
-"Sweet & Sour" Larry Sweeny
-Matt Cross
-Jimmy Jacobs
-Jack Evans

Grade For The Year: A



Sean: I guess I'll do this in order of the show's airing. That means RAW goes first.

RAW: At the beginning it looked good for RAW with EDGE winning the title, even though he lost it a short time later, it setup a good feud between Triple H vs. John Cena for Wrestlemania 22. Triple H put over Cena and it led into a new year of wrestling. Cena would lose the title to RVD at One Night Stand 2 much to the delight of the whole fandom. RVD's unfortunate run-in with the law tied WWE hands and caused RVD to have to relinquish the belt to EDGE. This gave WWE a long feud with EDGE vs. Cena that lasted all the way till September. John Cena won the title in a great TLC match, and has kept it ever since. He now feuds with Umaga, K-Fed, and briefly, Johnny Nitro. I'm currently in Miami, and I'm going to that RAW with the Cena vs. K-Fed match. Elsewhere, Vince McMahon decided it would be great, to have a feud with him against God, in which he also created his own religion called McMahonism. That was probably the stupidest thing I've seen all year. Besides that was the reformation of DX. I don't really have a problem with them, they are what they are, created to make money, and they've done plenty of that. Right now, they are a great part of the show feuding with Team Rated RKO (Orton & EDGE). Lately, we've also seen the rise of Jeff Hardy, Johnny Nitro, Cryme Tyme, and a resurgence of a possible tag division on RAW. The problem is that for most of the year, RAW ran on a treadmill especially, in the summer before Summerslam, and after the Cena vs. EDGE feud ran its course. With decent single brand PPV's in there as well. I give RAW a C for the year, because they were simply, average.

Next is ECW: Things looked dim for ECW at the start with a constant berating of the show's less than spectacular cast, and lack of wrestling. Slowly business began to pick up once Paul Heyman was allowed to write the shows. CM Punk got a huge push and got over rather quickly. Big Show was established as a dominant champion, and the older ECW stars were used well. However, due to the lack of PPV's, the shows did not have much flow, and it was difficult for the writing staff to makeup storylines to feed into one PPV. When you have a big roster with a few bright spots, and you only have one match on a PPV every three months, it makes it difficult for anyone. The shows themselves were not bad for a one hour show that at times didn't make sense. There were some good matches for the rehash promotion. Then WWE added Lashley to the mix to setup for an Elimination Chamber to try to sell ECW's first PPV. Well the PPV bombed, with a new Champion crowned, and the only great deal being a match with four non-ECW wrestlers in it. Vince instead of blaming himself or his writing team, blamed Paul Heyman, and he was fired from his position shortly after. Now Vince is stuck with a year long deal with SCI-FI and Bobby Lashley as their new Champion, it's now up to them to make ECW last for a while. With a lot of the older stars on their way out soon, it will be interesting to see what WWE does with ECW. Could they make it into a farm league with a television show? Possibly. I give ECW a C- for effort.

Let's step away from WWE for a bit, to talk about

TNA: There are basically two things that separate TNA this year. It's before Vince Russo and after Vince Russo. Let's see, TNA has a great tag division led by a great feud between LAX vs. AJ & Daniels that spanned about three PPV's. The X-Division started trying to give it's younger performers some star power, but that was cut short by the arrival of Russo, who started treating the division like a laughing stock. The Heavyweight division has been on and off, marked by a half the year feud between Jarrett and Sting, which was utter crap. The only thing Russo has gotten right is the Heavyweight division since he's returned, Sting vs. Christian vs. Abyss has been really interesting and they are the reason to watch, what has been lately a bad show. They sadly disbanded their most well known tag team in America's Most Wanted leaving LAX which virtually no one to wrestle except Team 3D. However, not all is lost, as Kurt Angle has come to save the day, right? Well he's put over Samoa Joe that's good, but it seems like he's pissed off the rest of the lockeroom with his greatness. Maybe that's why TNA should stop hiring ex-WWE guys. Anyway, another bright spot besides the great matches with Joe has been the feud with Daniels vs. Sabin that has established Sabin as a heel. Just about the only good thing Russo has done for the X-Division. TNA has really been a mixed bag this year, and at times, they can be right on, or completely off. At least their PPV's are always solid. I want to like TNA, but they got some stuff to fix first, I still give them a B though.

Finally, there is SmackDown: Oh the joy that began the year for SmackDown was out of this world. With a Latino in Rey Mysterio winning the Royal Rumble, the smallest wrestler ever to do so. Then to have it taken away from him at No Way Out by Randy Orton, that feud included the "Eddie's in hell" line that almost caused me throw my remote through my television. That's the only thing I can't stand is when religion is mixed with wrestling. Wrestling except for the art-form is not Godly, therefore once we start using Christianity in storylines it becomes a shot at the religion which is unnecessary. Then people wonder why wrestling isn't respected. Anyway, that whole feud then became irrelevant because Kurt Angle was added to the mix to create a Triple Threat for Wrestlemania. My jubilation at the result of the match could not be contained, Rey Mysterio had become World Champion at the grandest stage of them all. Mysterio's reign however, was handled badly by WWE where he lost almost every match he had on television only to miraculously win on PPV. Mysterio held the title till Great American Bash, where he lost it to King Booker. Since Judgment Day Booker T began calling himself "King" due to winning the King of the Ring. The character went on to become a big hit with the crowds and allowed him to keep the belt till November. This also allowed the world to see the resurgence of William Regal and Finlay, especially, Finlay. Who at 46, showed he still could wrestle with the best, and that he knew how to have a match with anyone. Lashley also became established during this period. Also, Mr. Kennedy was placed on the map, however, the feud he finds himself in currently, hasn't done much for him, it could possibly garner him respect from the fans and Vince. Kennedy has the tools to be the next big star, it just depends on how he's used from here on out. However, SmackDown did have low points which included: Great Khali (who now thankfully resides on ECW), I don't mind the Boogeyman because he serves a purpose on the show, he gives the crowd something different to look forward to besides the great wrestling. As great as the mid-card has been especially now that Benoit has returned, the tag division has had problems. Mercury had to go to rehab, so MNM was split up, Kid Kash threw a fit and was fired, Dave Taylor got hurt for a brief period, so ultimately, every time it looked as if the tag division had life. Something killed it. The big problem is that the Heavyweight division is down to the bare bones, and with Batista as champion, things are limited. Even though things may look dim now, all is not lost, with SmackDown you never know what could happen. At least they have consistently given us some good wrestling, and a good show to watch each week. However, their storylines need to get a little better. Anyway, through all the trials and tribulations, I still recommend SmackDown as the best television show around, SmackDown you get an A baby. There you have it, our thoughts on 2006.



There is something you should know about

411 Video Games section Go read the whole damn section. This is the place to go for your Video Game needs and maybe even more than you asked for as well. Seriously, everyone has been working hard to keep this running and any feedback for them is greatly appreciated.

Well that is all for this week folks. Thanks everyone for reading. Who do you think deserves these awards? What do you think of the year that was 2006? Well let us know with some feedback. It's always good to have someone else to argue with besides these guys. We hope you enjoyed this edition of the column and we will see ya's laters. Happy New Year People's. Later Triple Threaters.


If you want to send us your thoughts or comments send them to [e-mail]