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The Cubed Circle Newsletter
We have a huge issue for you this week, spanning over 8
pages including a review of ROH on SBG, WON Awards Part 1, Ratings for November
and more. As always you can find a full PDF above and if you haven’t downloaded
it already, I urge you to do so.
Wrestling Observer Awards
2011
It is time once again for the 2011 Wrestling Observer
Awards, this is the time of year when many voters sit carefully contemplating
the moments of the past year, deciding on the correct vote. I am one of these
voters and I have been thinking long and hard about my vote. My ballot remains
incomplete, so I will be posting my ballot in sections, before I send it in.
The awards are split into two sections, Section A, where a first, second, and
third place are chosen and Section B, where only a first place winner is chosen
for each category. There are 24 awards in section A and 13 in section B. In
this weeks issue we will be covering 7 from section A and 10 from B.
Category A
1. Most Improved
Third
Dean Ambrose
Second
Dolf Ziggler
First
Kyle ‘O Reilly
Improvement is something that we some times expect, other
times a wrestler has reached a plateau or is just plain bad. These three
wrestlers were great to begin with, but became even better this year. There is
no better example of this kind of improvement than ‘O Reilly, at the beginning
of the year he was nothing more than a pale rookie that could work, but he has
matured into an even better worker.
2. Best Technical Wrestler
Third
Daniel Bryan
Second
Eddie Edwards
First
Davey Richards
Both Edwards and Bryan were technically sound in 2011,
Edwards had the opportunity to showcase it, while Bryan had to conform with the
WWE. Edwards had great matches through out 2011, but Richards was on his own
level. Having phenomenal matches with just about everyone he stepped in the
ring with, Richards has great ring work and showcased a lot of submissions,
making him the best technical wrestler of 2011.
3. Bruiser Brody Memorial Award (Best use of Brawling
Tactics to put of the best matches)
Third
Rhett Titus
Second
Jay Briscoe
First
Kevin Steen
Brawling in the context of a match, is somewhat of a lost
art in this era, but the brawls that Steen had in PWG couples with his run ins
in ROH, proved that this is not a lost art. The Briscoes and the All Night
Express, also had their fair share of brawls through out 2011, from their
Chicago Street Fight at Super Card of Honor, to their Ladder War at Death
Before Dishonor, these candidates showcased the best brawling tactics of 2011.
4. Most Underrated
Third
Zach Ryder
Second
Daniel Bryan
First
Dolf Ziggler
Some are technically sound, some are super over, while
others just seem to have it all, for whatever reason some wrestlers just don’t
get the push that they deserve. Zach Ryder was really over throughout 2011,
garnering a cult following, that seemed to branch into the mainstream. He got
superstar like reactions in some cities, but he is still booked as a geek.
Bryan is arguably one of the best wrestlers in the world and although he
received the Money in the Bank briefcase, he suffered loss after loss. He is
starting to make a comeback, but that falls out of the award window, plus that
is a small fraction of the entire year. Both these men are talented individuals
and are under pushed, but one man that has such potential, has been locked in
place as a mid carder. Ziggler has phenomenal talent, from his in ring prowess,
to his mic skills and charisma, there is no reason why he shouldn’t be in the
main event.
5. Best Weekly TV Show
Third
-
Second
-
First
ROH on Sinclair
One thing that their was not an abundance of in 2011 was
good weekly TV shows, at least in North America. Their was NXT and Superstars,
but they didn’t fill the void that was left by the absence of good weekly TV.
Their was only one show in 2011 that did this and this was ROH on SBG. It was
booked like an old school wrestling show, it was logical, they built to
Internet Pay Per Views and it had some great wrestling every week. And that is
why ROH on Sinclair was the only TV show that was worth watching on a
consistent weekly basis this year.
6. Best Announcer
Third
Nigel Mcguinness
Second
William Regal
First
Kevin Kelly
The job of an announcer is to get the product over in a
respectful and meaningful way, while being entertaining and adding an extra
layer of depth to the product. This year Mcguinness, Regal and Kelly did this
job very well, Mcguinness added insight and extra analysis to the product,
Regal was very entertaining and also got the product over well, and Kelly was
phenomenal in his role, hitting all the major points and then some. He made the
product look credible, but wasn’t stale or dry and that is why he was the best
announcer of 2011.
7. Worst Announcer
Third
Jerry Lawler
Second
Booker T
First
Michael Cole
Unlike the winners above Jerry Lawler, Booker T, and Michael
Cole don’t improve the product in any way, in fact they damage it. Lawler talks
over the product and covers the product in a way that just makes you wonder why
you are watching it in the first place. Booker tries, but he fails, he makes
constant stupid remarks towards the product, he makes many mistakes and covers
the product in a very naive and immature way. However, Cole is the worst,
Lawler and Booker may diminish the product or fail to get it over, but Cole
buries the product and the wrestlers outright every year and for that he is the
worst announcer of 2011.
Section B
1. Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic
WWE B.A. Star Campaign
WWE pushed the B.A. Star campaign hard in 2011, when they
obviously didn’t stand by the campaign in practice. Embarrassing JR in his home
town, selling t-shirts that contained the same phrase that is given out to
talent on their pink slips and more. This made the campaign a blatant
hypercritic move and one of the most disgusting deceptions of people’s trust
and faith of 2011.
2. Worst Television Show
TNA Impact
Although RAW has been worse than Impact for the last few
months, Impact was the worst show for at least the first half of 2011. The show
was practically unbearable and that is why it is the worst television show of
2011.
3. Worst Match of the Year
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole WrestleMania 27
This was a match that no one expected to be very good, but
when it went fifteen minutes and the feud continued further, the match was
thrown over the edge. It was undoubtedly the worst match of the year.
4. Worst Feud of the Year
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole
A feud that wasted so much TV time and spawned some of the
worst abominations of the year, such as their match at WrestleMania or their
match at Over the Limit and this is why this was the worst feud of the year.
5. Worst Promotion
TNA
TNA ended the year better than they started, but no one can
ignore their atrocious TV and Pay Per View for most of 2011. Their shows were
practically unwatchable at some points and that is why they are the worst
promotion of 2011.
6. Best Booker
Joe Silva
Although this is a wrestling newsletter and I don’t cover
MMA, the UFC often does professional wrestling better than most wrestling
promotions. The best example of this fact is the booking and the man
responsible for the booking Joe Silva.
7. Promoter of the Year
Dana White
This is a similar situation to booker of the year, Dana
White has had a great year, gaining more exposure and obtaining a deal with
FOX. There isn’t a wrestling promoter that could touch him this year and
although he made some mistakes this year, he was the best wrestling promoter of
2011 outside of wrestling.
8. Best Gimmick
Steve Corino - Changed Man
Steve Corino’s new gimmick fits perfectly into the Steen
angle and got a great reaction from ROH fans all year round. His speeches were
entertaining, his altercations were fun and his encounters with Steen were
engrossing . This was the best gimmick of 2011.
9. Worst Gimmick
Michael Cole – Self Centered Announcer
WWE was able to create the most annoying, irritating and go
away heat getting character this year in the form of Michael Cole. His antics
constantly undermined the show and the talent, without anything in return and
this is why the Cole gimmick was the worst of 2011.
10. Best Wrestling DVD
Memphis Heat
Memphis Heat delivered tremendous insight into the world of
Memphis Wrestling, it was well produced and contained a multitude of extras. It
also contained interviews from people who made Memphis wrestling what it was.
It garnered praise from just about everyone who had the pleasure to watch it
and that is why it was the best wrestling DVD of 2011.
Check back next week for more coverage of the Wrestling
Observer Awards.
Star Ratings Given November
2011
WWE
Survivor Series
WWE Survivor Series 2011 Review
We had a promo highlighting the events that had taken place
before Survivor Series, it said never before had WrestleMania opponents teamed
up, Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena anyone? Regardless it did a decent job. Not
five minutes into the show and they were already going on about Twitter.
Laurinaitis opened the show, he said this date commemorates his tenth year as
executive vice president of talent relations.
1. United States Championship Match
Dolf Ziggler vs. John Morrison
***
2. LumberJill WWE Diva’s Championship Match
Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres
* ¾
3. Traditional Survivor Series Match
Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Dolf Ziggler,
Hunico, and Cody Rhodes) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Kofi
Kingston, and Mason Ryan)
***
4. World Heavyweight Championship Match
Mark Henry vs. Big Show
**
5. WWE Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk
*** ¾
6. The Rock & John Cena vs. The Miz and R-Truth
** ¾
ROH
ROH on SBG 2011/11/07
1. Shiloh Jonze vs. Michael Elgin
** ½
2. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team vs. Cedric Alexander &
Caprice Coleman
***
ROH ON SBG 2011/11/12
1. The Young Bucks vs. The Bravado Brothers
** ½
2. The American Wolves vs. Michael Elgin and Roderick Strong
***
ROH on SBG 2011/11/19
1. Mike Mondo vs. Silva
** ½
2. Jamin Olivencia vs. Mike Bennett
** ½
3. Davey Richards vs. Kyle O’ Reilly
*** ¾
ROH on SBG 2011/11/26
1. The Briscoe Brothers vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric
Alexander
N/A
2. Michael Elgin vs. Sean Casey & Raphael Constantine
** ½
3. ROH TV Title Match
Jay Lethal vs. El Generico
***
AJPW
1. Jun Akiyama vs. Suwama AJPW 2011/10/23 **** ½
Pro Wrestling NOAH
Go Shiozaki vs. Kotaro Suzuki NOAH 2011/11/05 *** ¾
ROH on SBG Review 2011/11/26
The show opened up with yet another good promo covering last
week’s episode’s mainevent, between Richards and ‘O Reilly. They showed a
Briscoes promo, they talked about Final Battle and how they would beat
Alexander and Coleman. They then showed a Coleman promo, he is actually pretty
good on the mic.
1. The Briscoe Brothers vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric
Alexander
The Briscoe’s went after Alexander, but he hit a big
enzuigiri and Coleman hit a big dive to the outside. The Briscoes pushed the
referee, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team came running out with chairs, the
Briscoes were chased out of the arena. Their was a commercial break, when they
returned the fight was pretty much over. This wasn’t really a match and I would have liked to see
more brawling between, the Briscoes and Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team.
N/A
2. Michael Elgin vs. Sean Casey & Raphael Constantine
Casey and Constantine were super obnoxious before the match,
which I guess added to the squash. They went for the double suplex on Elgin,
but he hit a double suplex of his own. Casey and Constantine hit a few double teams,
but Elgin quickly overpowered them and hit an Alabama Slam with both
Constantine and Casey on his shoulders for the win. This was an okay little
showcase of Elgin’s strength, but I would have liked to have seen a few more
power moves from Elgin, since Casey and Constantine didn’t need to get a lot of
offence in.
** ½
Jim Cornette revealed his settlement offer, he said he would
reveal it next week, with Steen, Jacobs and Corino in the ring. The Steen angle
has been built very well over the past few weeks. We then had this week’s
edition of Inside Ring of Honor. Highlighting the training of Edwards by Dan
Severn, they showcased Severn’s accolades including his amateur titles and UFC
championships. Edwards and Severn were interviewed together, Severn said it was
his idea to keep it a secret from Richards, Edwards then said that the reason
that Richards was so upset was because of ‘O Reilly. He said that he wouldn’t
have been able to put Richards out at Best in the World, but he will at Final
Battle. Strong was then interviewed, he was drinking with women, he said he put
out a challenge to ROH to find the best wrestler in the world besides him. He
said he would steal the show at Final Battle, opponent or no opponent.
3. ROH TV Title Match
Jay Lethal vs. El Generico
Both Generico and Lethal battled back and forth, but
Generico gained control before the commercial break hitting a split legged
moonsault. Lethal hit a dropkick , Generico landed on the outside, against the
barrier. They then cut to a commercial, once they were back Lethal was in
control. Lethal chopped Generico, but Generico began to fire up. Lethal hit a
backsuplex/neckbreaker combo, there were three minutes remaining. Bennett came
out with the Television Championship in his hands. Generico hit the Yakuza kick
at the one minute mark, Lethal then hit a super kick, both men were down in the
middle of the ring. Lethal took Bennett out on the outside at the 30 second
mark. Lethal hit the elbow and Generico was pinned for the count of three, but the
referee was distracted by Bennett. Time expired, Lethal and Bennett then began
to fight on the outside, when Generico dived onto both of them. I presume this
is going to lead to a three way, which would be strange since Generico was
pinned. The match didn’t go very long and I hope to see a full and proper
Lethal Generico match, without these short time limits in the future.
***
Overall Show Thoughts
Overall another good ROH on SBG show, the wrestling wasn’t
up to the standard set by the show, but the mainevent was decent. The strong
build to Final Battle continued and next weeks show was set up well. So all in
all another well planned show.
Next Weeks Issue
Next week we continue our WON Award coverage, ROH on SBG,
match of the year and so much more. All that and tons more at
CubedCircleWrestling.blogspot.com.
Contact
Any Questions or Queries: Rubyclouding@gmail.com
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