I'm going to hold off writing about my biggest mistake with ROH and why my mentor Paul Heyman is somewhat responsible for it. I'm just not mentally there now and instead want to write about something fun. First, check out the trailer for my "Book Of Secrets" DVD coming out on January 13th:

 

 

There is also a pretty good topic going on about it on the message board at CZWfans.com. Take part in the discussion and read about it here:

 

 

When the DVD comes out I plan to make this Myspace more interactive as I will answer any questions and criticisms you have based on subjects discussed in the DVD. There is a lot of information on this DVD about my theories, philosophies, ideas and just generally how I booked ROH. I put it all on the table and get it out of my system in the interview. I hope it will create some good debate on how I did things. It will also be very interesting to see what people thought of my vision for the rest of 2008 and directions going into 2009. I hope we get some good discussion going here.

 

So right now for a little fun I've decided to post my year end awards, based off The Wrestling Observer ballot. I'm skipping the MMA categories since I didn't follow it closely this year. I also stick to what I paid the closest attention to this year and skipped some categories. Here we go:

 

1) Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award: Shingo- Surprised? I was lucky enough to see a Dragon Gate show in person in Tokyo and Shingo just had this aura about him. He was THE top guy to the fans and that was clear. Dragon Gate also grew while he was champion and is even running Sumo Hall so he covers both the in ring and business aspect of this award. I think Nigel McGuinness deserves consideration as ROH did draw its largest crowds ever with him as champion and he delivered time and time again in the ring. From TNA I'd go with Samoa Joe and from WWE I'd say Chris Jericho.

 

2) Most Outstanding: Bryan Danielson- Everything he touches turns to gold. Nigel McGuinness and Austin Aries are right there, too. I also want to make a case for El Generico. His match against Kota Ibushi in Chicago is one of my favorites of the year and he also had great singles matches vs. Nigel McGuinness and several other good singles matches. I'll get to his team with Kevin Steen in a minute. He was one performer that I constantly enjoyed watching and I would always find myself looking forward to his matches.

 

3) Best Box Office: John Cena- I almost want to make this a no contest since nothing in pro wrestling seemed to do big business or get red hot this year, but the ratings jumped when he returned so that gives him the prize.

 

4) Feud Of The Year: Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens- I really couldn't be happier with how this feud perfectly crossed over from ROH and FIP. If you watch every chapter build from ROH and FIP in order you'll see why this was feud of the year. They brought intensity, hatred and emotion to every aspect of this feud and all the matches delivered in brutality, skill and violence. They earned the year closing spot they were going to get at "Final Battle" last Saturday in my now fantasy world (oh look, a tease for the "Secrets" DVD).

 

5) Tag Team Of The Year: Kevin Steen & El Generico- Normally this is The Briscoes' award and they deserve top consideration, but this was Steen & Generico's year. Their Boston PPV bout against AOTF is one of my favorite matches in ROH history, they tore it up against the Dragon Gate guys in Orlando and just delivered every time they teamed. I would have loved to see how the match I had planned for them in November in Toronto would have come out.

 

6) Most Improved: Nigel McGuinness- Just look at his swagger, confidence and charisma from a year ago compared to now. He runs away with the award this year. I always liked putting the World Title on a guy on the cusp of reaching the next level. If you put the right guy in that role, he will rise to the occasion of the spot and become a true star. Samoa Joe did it. Austin Aries did it. Bryan Danielson did it. Nigel did it as World Champion this year. Jimmy Jacobs deserves mention and I talk about the corner he turned in the upcoming DVD (I snuck in one more plug). Also glad to see Rhett Titus making some major strides. Outside of ROH I will go with Miz & Morrison.

 

7) Best On Interviews: John Cena- Yeah, he's awesome on interviews. There are a lot of great promos in wrestling now so I'll leave it at that.

 

8) Best Technical Wrestler: Bryan Danielson- This will be named the Bryan Danielson Award in 10 years. I think Davey Richards could be a guy to watch in this category if he decides to go in the technical direction. You can't mention technical wrestling without saying Naomichi Marufuji's name as he has one of the best minds in the business.

 

9) Bruiser Brody Memorial Award: Jimmy Jacobs or Briscoes- I'm having a hard time choosing here. Jimmy Jacobs ALWAYS delivers like a million bucks in blow off gimmick matches. Jay & Mark Briscoe always have intense, exciting, innovative brawls. We saw it all come together perfectly in Orlando in the AOTF vs. Briscoes tag brawl. This is a pick 'em in my book and I'm not even including Necro Butcher, Roderick Strong or Erick Stevens in the discussion, although they should be.

 

10) Best Flying Wrestler: Tyler Black- I am really surprised he doesn't get mentioned more often when it comes to Best Flying Wrestler. He has variety as well as being fearless and incredibly athletic. He also gets points for innovative flying he does in taking moves (just look at the Doomsday to the floor last December in Manhattan). His dive in the "Take No Prisoners" bout vs. Nigel took the match to the next level, made Nigel a stronger heel and saw Tyler cement himself as a top player. If the dive wasn't so spectacular we wouldn't have gotten the same result. No one does a better Phoenix splash. This is actually one of the most competitive awards as there are just so many incredible flying wrestlers now. Matt Syerrrr Evan Bourne, PAC, Kota Ibushi, El Generico, Mark Briscoe, Ishimori all immediately spring to mind and I know I'm missing some obvious choices too.

 

11) Match Of The Year: This really all depends on what kind of match I feel like watching on a given day. Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson from the 6th Anniversary Show was the best from a storyline perspective (oh yeah, but I never booked characters or storylines). Nigel vs. Aries from "Rising Above" is at the top of the list for just being all around awesome. Nigel vs. Tyler from Philly for drama (another example of character building and storyline within a match). Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black from Boston is also at the top of the list for me. I know I'm missing a few too, but I don't feel like going through and reading the results. Those are the matches that really stand out to me off the top of my head.

 

12) Best Non-Wrestler Performer: Lacey- She just makes everything she is involved in better and is a catalyst for a lot of great storylines and promos. Now just think of the angles she was involved in this year and her work at ringside. Now imagine she wasn't there. It just isn't as good. That is a great compliment to a non-wrestler performer (although she can also work and I always thought she would make a great SHIMMER Champion). I really thought she rose to the occasion when she worked with Tammy Sytch earlier in the year too and proved how strong a performer she is. By the way, Tammy deserves some mention here. I wanted to make her into a backstage interviewer with ROH and "host" the shows, but we just never could get enough dates with her to make it happen. I think she would have added greatly to the product.

 

13) Best Television Announcer: Joe Rogan- I've been watching UFC a lot more closely in the past couple of months and Rogan is incredible. He gets everything over without sounding like a hometown guy and you can tell that he believes in every word he says.

 

14) Best Major Show: "Supercard Of Honor III"- I was always in quest of the "perfect show" and this might be the closest that ROH ever came to one. I mean what else would you want on a show? Just think too, the Richards & Romero vs. Ruckus & Jigsaw PPV match was also on this live show. I think that "Death Before Dishonor VI" and "Rising Above" are also up there. I loved reading the criticism that "Rising Above" was too fast paced and had too many spots. It was no accident that Slayer's "Raining Blood" was the theme song for that PPV. I said to myself "if I have a chance to use Raining Blood I'm going to do it and then the PPV has to match the pace of that song and album." I think it did and for that reason it will always remain one of my favorites.

 

15) Best Wrestling Maneuver: Ibushi moonsault where his opponent moves, Ibushi lands on his feet and then hits a standing moonsault. Ok, so it's a little contrived since his opponent has to roll out of the way every time, but the first time you see it you are bound to say "WOW, that was cool!"

 

16) Best Booker: Me- come on. I'd give it to Pearce, but he needs to thank me for the house last Saturday. I think Mike Quackenbush deserves major consideration. I have to admit I haven't seen much of CHIKARA, but Quack has earned a very loyal following and managed to successfully expand his territory this year. He has also developed his own, unique style of promotion that stands out. All of those qualities are the sign of a great booker. Dave Prazak continues to do a fantastic job with SHIMMER as everything makes sense, he keeps things fresh and he has found a consistent market for his company.

 

17) Best Gimmick and Most Underrated: Delirious- There is no one more underrated than Delirious. He is so versatile. You can put him in any role and he delivers. He has that gimmick perfected on every level. I really would have had fun writing an intricate storyline for the Delirious/Daizee Haze angle in 2009. Oh well.

 

18) Best TV Show: It's not wrestling or MMA, but nothing touches HBO's 24/7. I also enjoyed the Celebrity Championship Wrestling show. I thought it did a great job of letting the viewer know that it is hard and painful to be a pro wrestler. On the surface it seemed like it was disrespectful because it was exposing the business, but in the end I think it showed how tough pro wrestling really is and the difficulty involved. It was also a fresh TV format. When the season was over you felt like Rodman really accomplished something by winning and that being victorious was important. Isn't that what good, old school pro wrestling is all about?

 

And finally....

 

19) Best Promotion: Well it can't be ROH cause if it was so good the booker wouldn't have been fired. Does "The Wrestler" count as a promotion? It seems to be getting the best reviews and will do the best business. I guess not. I'm sorry Dave, but MMA promotions should be in a totally different category so they are out of the running to me. I have to give the nod to FIP, only because I feel that FIP has been criminally overlooked this year. First of all, it was a huge accomplishment just to be up and running after the horrible tragedy last year. Then I think we really got down a good formula this year. You want to talk about pacing and variety? FIP had it. I also felt that FIP was an extremely easy product to follow in 2008. You only had to get an average of one DVD a month and I was very happy with how each DVD led to the next release. Strong vs. Stevens provided an incredible backbone. The YRR developed into a top act. Black Market remained very popular. Then you saw new stars and acts rise like Heartbreak Enterprises (Sean Davis is tremendous as a manager), Dark City Fight Club (keep your eye on this team) and Chris Jones (lots of potential since he's so young). Add in guest spots and programs with Austin Aries, Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, Scotty 2 Hotty, Davey Richards, Nigel McGuinness, Necro Butcher, SHIMMER athletes, Delirious, Briscoes, Larry Sweeney, Baby Doll, Greg Valentine, Jerry Lynn, Joey Ryan and even a FIP Title run by Go Shiozaki and you had some great, fresh matches. Business also maintained despite a really tough economy in Florida and the fans were hot for most of the angles, all the top matches and a lot of the action. FIP also made some tremendous production improvements during the course of the year with better sound, live commentary and other stuff. Overall, I was very proud of the year in FIP and when I am able to sit down and watch some stuff I booked I plan to watch FIP's 2008 first.

 

I did almost all of this off the top of my head so you get a very natural reaction. I am also sure I forgot some stuff and people, but I'm not about to think too hard about this.

 

Leave a comment and give me your thoughts.

 

Hey, this blog accomplished my goal. I feel better and it was fun to look back at everything. I promise I'll be back soon with some entertaining stories from my time in ECW and ROH. I am looking forward to writing about "my biggest mistake" and the Paul Heyman influence so I will get to that blog soon. Have a great New Years!!! There is no telling what 2009 will hold.