Power Slam magazine have compiled their annual list of the best in ring performers of the year. Eleven wwe wrestlers featured in the list of fifty.
What do you make of the following selections and who else do you think deserved to join them:
50: JACK SWAGGER - "Scrapes into the 50 based on his heightened profile between April and July and his athletic, water-tight performances....."
My opinion: Should be higher. Generally not a fan of Swagger but the guy can go in the ring and he has a lot of good matches in 2010 - making him world champion though was just ludicrous on a number of levels.
47: EDGE - "Rated-PG superstar" rushed back from a torn achilles tendon as a babyface to win the Royal Rumble on January 31st.... As a face, his promos and mannerisms were too aggressive for him to drum up much support in his feud with Chris Jericho.... Looked good in the main event of Fatal 4 Way and the Money in the Bank Ladder match...
My Opinion: Way too low. Edge has been in several entertaining tussles in 2010 even if his character development/overall booking has been terrible.
46: SHAWN MICHAELS - "'The Heartbreak Kid' was the best thing on television from Dec 09 to Mar 10"
My opinion: Again too low. Shawn was the best thing going during the best few months of the year. For that he deserves a top 25 spot despite missing the majority of the year.
44.) CM PUNK
My Opinion: About right given that he was fed to Big Slow for a significant portion of the year and ended up on the sidelines. His matches with Mysterio were great and his Mania match could have been a MOTY contender were it not for time constraints.
42: THE MIZ
My Opinion: Nothing wrong with this. Miz really came good in 2010 and began to show star power in the ring as well as on the microphone.
41: SHAEMUS - "Despite his push and title reigns, Shaemus still isn't over like a headline guy...."
My Opinion: Agree with the above statement and the rating seems about right too. Shaemus is a fine worker who had a series of passable matches throughout the year.
29: CHRISTIAN - "Hard-working star who jumped to TNA in 2005 partly in protest against wwe's refusal to use him in main events must have abandoned all hope that a headline wwe career will ever materialise...."
My Opinion: Way too low. I lost count of how many good matches Christian had this year - he got an entertaining scrap out of Ezekiel Jackson for goodness sake!
26: DANIEL BRYAN "Despite his comical entrance tune and the continuing verbal abuse he receives from Cole, the 29 year old is wwe's success story of 2010."
My Opinion: Should be top twenty at least.
23: CHRIS JERICHO
My Opinion: Given his time off this is probably justified.
19: RANDY ORTON - "Was regrettably overshadowed by the John Cena / Nexus saga in his uninspiring feud with Wade Barrett... 30 year old's title loss to the Miz at least opens the door to a new rivalry...."
My Opinion: Too high. Orton is a solid worker but he's really nothing special inside the squared circle and this year hasn't proven otherwise. His feud with Shaemus yielded a series of matches that were just there.
15.) REY MYSTERIO
My Opinion: Mysterio is a magician in the ring and he is more than deserving of this position.
NOTEABLE ABSENCES:
JOHN MORRISON - Say what you like about his excessively whacky character but Jomo is a dynamo in the ring and he definitely deserved a placing.
What do you make of the following selections and who else do you think deserved to join them:
50: JACK SWAGGER - "Scrapes into the 50 based on his heightened profile between April and July and his athletic, water-tight performances....."
My opinion: Should be higher. Generally not a fan of Swagger but the guy can go in the ring and he has a lot of good matches in 2010 - making him world champion though was just ludicrous on a number of levels.
47: EDGE - "Rated-PG superstar" rushed back from a torn achilles tendon as a babyface to win the Royal Rumble on January 31st.... As a face, his promos and mannerisms were too aggressive for him to drum up much support in his feud with Chris Jericho.... Looked good in the main event of Fatal 4 Way and the Money in the Bank Ladder match...
My Opinion: Way too low. Edge has been in several entertaining tussles in 2010 even if his character development/overall booking has been terrible.
46: SHAWN MICHAELS - "'The Heartbreak Kid' was the best thing on television from Dec 09 to Mar 10"
My opinion: Again too low. Shawn was the best thing going during the best few months of the year. For that he deserves a top 25 spot despite missing the majority of the year.
44.) CM PUNK
My Opinion: About right given that he was fed to Big Slow for a significant portion of the year and ended up on the sidelines. His matches with Mysterio were great and his Mania match could have been a MOTY contender were it not for time constraints.
42: THE MIZ
My Opinion: Nothing wrong with this. Miz really came good in 2010 and began to show star power in the ring as well as on the microphone.
41: SHAEMUS - "Despite his push and title reigns, Shaemus still isn't over like a headline guy...."
My Opinion: Agree with the above statement and the rating seems about right too. Shaemus is a fine worker who had a series of passable matches throughout the year.
29: CHRISTIAN - "Hard-working star who jumped to TNA in 2005 partly in protest against wwe's refusal to use him in main events must have abandoned all hope that a headline wwe career will ever materialise...."
My Opinion: Way too low. I lost count of how many good matches Christian had this year - he got an entertaining scrap out of Ezekiel Jackson for goodness sake!
26: DANIEL BRYAN "Despite his comical entrance tune and the continuing verbal abuse he receives from Cole, the 29 year old is wwe's success story of 2010."
My Opinion: Should be top twenty at least.
23: CHRIS JERICHO
My Opinion: Given his time off this is probably justified.
19: RANDY ORTON - "Was regrettably overshadowed by the John Cena / Nexus saga in his uninspiring feud with Wade Barrett... 30 year old's title loss to the Miz at least opens the door to a new rivalry...."
My Opinion: Too high. Orton is a solid worker but he's really nothing special inside the squared circle and this year hasn't proven otherwise. His feud with Shaemus yielded a series of matches that were just there.
15.) REY MYSTERIO
My Opinion: Mysterio is a magician in the ring and he is more than deserving of this position.
NOTEABLE ABSENCES:
JOHN MORRISON - Say what you like about his excessively whacky character but Jomo is a dynamo in the ring and he definitely deserved a placing.
