06/27/11 RAW ROULETTE REVIEW: PUNK'S MAGNUM OPUS, ALSO SHAWN MICHAELS VS. NATURE

This review is also posted at Fair To Flair, a new pro wrestling website that "gets it" because writers don't use the phrase "gets it" (well at least I don't because I get it, and if you catch one of the other guys using it then I can't be held accountable for them not getting it, but maybe they get it and just use "gets it" to "get" under my "skin" I can't stop "quoting"'"").

I'm a regular contributor at FTF (mainly for Raw reviews, much like this one), along with co-founders Jason Mann of Wrestlespective, K. Sawyer Paul of Footnotes of Wrestling, as well as Razor of Kick-Out!! Wrestling and my blogging Shing-bro TH of The Wrestling Blog. Give Fair To Flair a peek, and may I specifically suggest checking out the first-ever Fair To Flair Quarterly, a REAL LIFE BOOK (and fake life digital "book") containing fan-and-staff-written essays on professional wrestling.

Keep your eye out for the second Quarterly, coming soon to a laptop near you (presumably, your laptop). In fact, you can listen to a podcast previewing the upcoming "live experiences" Quarterly that Jason Mann and I did a little bit ago. It features live audio from ROH Best In The World 2011, as I attended it and crapped myself, but managed to salvage the audio for you. I did it for you. I also did it for The Rock.

WOW. Okay. So, enough plugs. Let's get down to that review that I wrote three weeks ago and am posting here only now because I don't know why.

Buy Five Hour Energy.

RAW ROULETTE

LIKED...

KELLY KELLY GETS A BIG WIN

Kelly won, she’s improving in the ring lately. Good to see Eve still doing stuff. ***1/2

KOFI KINGSTON VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER

They wrestled and it was a match ***3/4

BOOKER T SPINNING THE Rawjkkwdmcmjjjjjjj

ksqsjnnc kdsn wkkfnm,wa **1/2

…

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WHAT AM I DOING?!

My mind was erased after CM Punk reached through the goddamned TV and grabbed every one of us by the balls. I legitimately forgot that anything else happened before Punk’s ****ing MAGNUM OPUS, and that’s okay, because talking about anything but CM Punk at this point seems completely pointless. I mean, who wants to hear my thoughts on Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler on a night when CM Punk doesn’t turn a microphone into a pipebomb?

But, conversely, what can I say about CM Punk that hasn’t already been said? By fans? Wrestlers? Writers? Bloggers? Super popular non-wrestling blogs? People that have jobs that don’t have anything to do with wrestling and believe it to be real? EVERYONE is talking about CM Punk (he’s so hot right now), and I don’t need to tell you why. I could, but that would almost certainly fill up an entire WOO! section because that promo was so WOO! that we’d all OD on WOO! (you know it).

More importantly, I pretty much don’t even want to think about this. I don’t want anyone telling me why it’s a worked shoot or why he’s leaving or why he’s staying or anything else. I want to watch the Summer of Punk sequel and let the goosebumps take over, because it’s extremely rare in today’s mainstream wrestling world to find something to watch that you are obsessed with.

So, I’ve decided that I’ve come full circle and will talk about everything but CM Punk. Except for, y’know, all that stuff I just said.

Now back to Shawn Michaels, moose hunter.

MACMILLAN RIVER ADVENTURES!

I find it hilarious that Shawn Michaels, the character, dresses in sequins and chaps and does a sexy dance, while Shawn Michaels the man (Michael Hickenbottom, I suppose) dresses in hunting apparel and kills bears on the Falconer channel. It’s an incredible juxtaposition that also somehow represents in a nutshell what I love about wrestling.

The preview for MacMillan River Adventures on Raw lead me to believe that they’ll be constantly splicing clips of moose and other woodland creatures running in terror from Shawn Michaels, with clips of HBK dancing and kicking people’s teeth down their throats. I want to believe that the show will be a sixty-minute montage highlighting Shawn’s most awesome moonsaults and most gruesome deer headshots, but I feel like I’ll be let down when I tune in. And I’ve seen enough funny pictures of Shawn Michaels posing with dead bears (here, here or here) or caught fish (here, here) or whatever other hunter things he does that I’ve reached my quota and will never watch his show. Y’know, unless people start linking me to hilarious clips of him skinning big horns and gyrating his hips or something. Then I’ll never not watch.

MARK HENRY VS. CAGE DOOR, WALL

Mark Henry and cage doors have a storied history. He’s getting better as time goes on. You can practically see the Sims learning meter above his head as he fumbles with that thing. But I am happy that they’re doing exactly what I want with Mark Henry - have him break down random objects like he’s Blanka taking apart a car in between stages in Street Fighter.

Or maybe he could make a cameo on Shawn Michaels’ show and corner avalanche moose for fun.

BOOKER T RECAPS RAW IN REAL TIME

At first, I was hesitant to the idea that Booker T would be replacing Candice Michelle’s boobs as the official Raw Roulette wheel spinner. But then he starting delivering raving, speed-induced recaps of every segment after every segment to the people who JUST saw it. It’s like he was trying to sell us on the show we were already watching. I was dying. Maryse couldn’t even process what was happening.

And never mind Booker T’s Kane-summoning powers. “AWWWW the question mark you know what the question mark means right there the question mark means that you got a mystery opponent just kidding Kane’s right here already HIT THE MUSIC right there”

Honourable Mention: Rey Mysterio, Alex Riley and the MEGA COMBO FINISH.

I just got back from New York where I saw ROH Best In The World live and in person, and I’m pretty sure that that combo would’ve put Davey Richards away. Well, maybe (definitely) not. But in WWE’s universe (not to be confused with the WWE Universe), you can lose to any kind of move where you and your opponent just jump and fall down.

I’m pretty sure that Swagger was out after the kick to the head, but that was followed by a 619, an Edgecution DDT, a top rope splash, an apron 2K1 bomb and a crossbow killshot from Shawn Michaels, moose hunter.

Honourable Mention Not Needed Mentioning Again But Here I Go: CM Punk.

It’s officially a one-man show.

RAW ROULETTE

DISLIKED...

Photo - WWE.com

I REMEMBER A TIME WHEN TEXT MESSAGES AND WHEELS DIDN’T DECIDE THE MATCHES OF A WRESTLING SHOW

And that’s a time when an invisible man in the sky with a Gmail account decided the matches. Can we go back to that? WE HAVE TO GO BAAACK

CM Punk recently tried to bring some legitimacy back to the WWE’s match-making process. He came out to the ring and declared that he beat Rey Mysterio, someone who barely ever loses, and John Cena, the WWE Champion, and claimed that he should then be named the #1 Contender to the WWE Championship. But of course, that Anonymous GM chimed in to remind Punk that it doesn’t work that way. It works in whatever way he, the invisible man in the sky, decides, because this is professional wrestling and everyone knows that best way to get what you want is to break into the champion’s home and assault his family or something.

I just want them to reel back the wackiness. Just a bit. Either that, or turn it up to eleven and let the South Park Family Guy manatees pick the matches on Raw next week, and we’ll finally get the Undertaker vs. Eve & Dean Ambrose Handicap Halftime Heat Street Fight Pillow Fight Over The Top Off With The Top Match I’ve been waiting for.

SIN CARA VS. EVAN BOURNE

EEP. Before you judge me (don’t judge me), it’s not what you think.

I thought the match was fun and was exactly what we need more of in WWE today (maybe minus the stripper lighting): wrestling that isn’t predictable beat-by-beat. What I didn’t like was how it didn’t click in that perfect way, and how the announcers didn’t really seem to know how to put it over as it began (“pff, what’re they doing, WRESTLING?!”). I’m worried that because it wasn’t the five-and-a-half star, white-hot DGUSA speedfest that was expected by some, they won’t get to do it again.

I’m also worried that from the way his head bounced off the mat during the finish, Evan Bourne’s going to be the one “without face.” HAAHAH? …

BIG SHOW WOW YOU ARE FIRED UP OKAY PLEASE STOP

Dear The Big Show,

Please refrain from coming out to the ring like you’re in Bring It On 8 and you’re super jazzed to win the big cheering competition. I literally had to rewind your big stupid raindance just to annoy myself. Don’t make me get Kurt Angle to tranquilize you. Or Shawn Michaels to crossbow your teeth down your throat.

Signed,

Me

Aside: Michael Cole running down the laundry list of Big Show’s ailments was hilarious. “First, he got run over by an automobile. Then he was put through the announce table. Then he contracted typhoid. And now this.”

Honourable Mention: Alex Riley silent treatment.

Riley Shelton Benjamin’d himself to the top rope AND did Naomichi Marufuji’s running kick on the outside where he lands on the apron - and no one said a word. I’m not saying Riley is NEXT WORLD CHAMP BEST IN THE WORLD or anything, but I found it odd.

Dishonourable Honourable Mention: The crowd, Power Rangers.

Sometimes pro wrestling crowds are irritating. Take chanting “Power Ranger” at Sin Cara, for example. I SO BADLY want a cartoon or kids show of some kind to come out that can at least update that ****ing insult. Power Ranger? Power Ranger. REALLY. Has no other person dressed up in bright colours and fought people since the Might Morphin Mother****ing Power Rangers were on TV? If Sin Cara really was a Power Ranger, sparks would fly out of his chest whenever he ****ed up in the ring. SO THERE.

Shawn Michaels is the real Power Ranger anyway.

HOW FAR DO YOU WANT YOUR CURTAIN PULLED BACK?

That sounds kind of strange, and I'm sure Triple H could twist that into a kayfabe-breaking gay joke, but it's a serious question. How much do you let yourself know?

I've been completely burnt out on writing about wrestling for the past few days, and tonight I'm just going to watch some wrestling for the sake of watching wrestling and not to dissect and ruin it for myself. But this question just came to me, and I'm curious as to what people say.

For the longest time (I don't know how long, but long) it seemed that if you were a wrestling fan and had the Internet, you would want to know everything. I was definitely one of those people. I wanted to read every spoiler, every shoot interview, and seek out every single morsel of information about how wrestling works - how do matches get put together? How much do they call in the ring? What is calling it in the ring? Is Stone Cold really going to shoot Vince McMahon in the head on live television because I pissed my pants before Vince did. TELL ME EVERYTHING.

If you want to know something about the inner workings of wrestling, you can find it pretty easily on the Internet. That is cool. But only if you want to know that stuff.

I've come to the point where I don't want to know stuff. I want to keep the magic untouched and unmolested and unruined, so I can still watch wrestling and get the feelings it gave me when I was eleven. Lance Storm (who I site like a peer-reviewed journal on here) has said in many Q & A's on his blog that he doesn't want to reveal certain aspects of the business in order to protect it - even though he'll answer pretty much anything out of kayfabe. One person asked how near falls are best used int matches, and Lance said he wouldn't say. I like that there's some stuff we'll never know. Or if it does come out, I don't want to know it, so I'm going to go put on my Vader mask backwards and plug my ears until it's safe to stop.

How about you though? Do you keep things from yourself? If a spoiler on a dirtsheet comes up, do you click on it? Or do you avoid it in hopes of keeping some part of the magic of wrestling in tact. Whether it's a storyline spoiler or a taping spoiler or even a small note on why something happened during a match - they're all called a spoiler for a reason. They spoil wrestling (er, well, that's how I see it anyway).

It's a hard balance. I like reading about wrestling because I love it so much, but I don't want to take away what makes it great. But on the other hand, knowing more about the inner workings of a match can make you enjoy wrestling on a whole other level, which once again makes it one of the strangest and most unique forms of entertainment ever. Take Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker from WrestleMania XXV. In kayfabe, the point of a wrestling match is that the guys are supposed to hurt each other and try and win. But when Undertaker takes a nosedive over the top rope and accordions himself on his own head, you start to wonder if he's really hurt. This adds a whole other layer of drama to this match, where if you weren't aware of wrestling being "fake," you wouldn't understand.

Same for spotting things like guys calling things on the fly, or blading in a way that you could never, ever catch them. Those weird little things can make a match more interesting and more fun to watch, so there are pros to knowing more than the "average" fan.

Clearly, I'm on the fence. I have things I like knowing, and things I never want to know. What about you?

And if this is the first time you found out that wrestling is fake, I'm sorry. My grade three teacher had to apologize to me for saying Santa wasn't real, so I'll apologize to you. Thanks, Mr. Mac. Fuck.

MATT HARDY VS. VAL VENIS IS THE NEW SHANE HELMS VS. SHAWN MICHAELS

In case you haven't been obsessing over pro wrestling internet feuds instead of things that actually matter like I have, let me get you up to speed.

Shane Helms had this to say about Shawn Michaels. It's a lot to read, but essentially what I gather from it is that Helms is mad at HBK for being a bad Christian and for not being his fwend :( . Shawn Michaels had nothing to say in response, probably because he doesn't give a fuck what The Hurricane says. Especially when every other word is a swear. Wassup wit dat?!

Also, I love when people say things like, "I was this close to beating him up." What the fuck does that even mean? Anybody could say that. "I was this close to beating him up and embarrassing him in front of all of his friends and throwing him off a building and into traffic and lighting him on fire!!!"

Anyway, Helms just comes off as a guy who wished he could be best buds with Shawn Michaels, but Shawn didn't want to be his friend because ew, it's Shane Helms. So Helms talks about how close he was to beating Shawn up, but when asked what Shawn did to make him so mad, Helms says he wants to save it for his "shoot interview DVD," which means he didn't do anything and Shane Helms is just being ridiculous.

Then, enter Val Venis:

And, never to be outdone on YouTube, Matt Hardy's response:

In case you're too lazy to watch ten minutes of wrestlers calling each other names, here's what happened. Sean Morley called Matt Hardy talentless, and made fun of him for being such a weirdo on the internet. Matt Hardy, then did the unthinkable, and essentially TATTLED ON VAL VENIS.

Matt's video opens up on an email from a promoter that knows both Morley and Matt, with Matt saying he's going to expose the fraud that is Sean Morley. The email has texts from Morley to the promoter that are typed out verbatim. They say that Morley has no real heat with Matt, but that he just likes messing with his fans, and he's potentially building to an angle they can do on the indies someday. Morley also says that the promoter can tell Matt, but not anyone else, and if Matt or Shane find out, they should bury him in every way to keep this thing alive.

Matt Hardy then seemingly ignores that and takes it all to heart, and starts talking about how great his life is and he has a million dollar house and could retire right now if he wanted to and his life is great guys just like he says in every single tweet he does so how could his life be bad if he keeps saying how great it is it's fine it's sweet my life rules you guys IT'S GREAT MY LIFE IS GREEAAAAAAAAT

I don't understand what's happening here.

Val Venis: "Matt Hardy is talentless and trampoline wrestling is lame! (psst, hey Matt - go with it! It's an angle!)"

Matt Hardy: "I WAS IN WWE FOR 12 YEARS AND MY HOUSE IS SWEET SO FUCK YOU"

Val Venis: "..."

Anyway, these internet feuds aren't doing it for me. Someone call me when they get to DIE SLOW MOTHERFUCKER proportions.

MOMENTS 2010: THE HEARTBREAK KID SHAWN MICHAELS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Admit it. You cried too.

I will be a man and say I teared up. I teared up even more when Triple H surprised Shawn at the top of the ramp and they embraced like Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron in Sweet November. Between this video and these pictures, how could there be a dry eye anywhere in the wrestling world?!

Photo - WWE.com

Photo - WWE.com

Photo - WrestlingValley.org

This promo wasn't even a promo, so I don't know why I'm calling it a promo. But whatever you want to call it, it was goddamned beautiful and I don't care who knows it. It was also the beginning of the realest retirement in wrestling history, because it's still going.

Shawn Michaels ended his career with three of the greatest moments he's ever been a part of - one being this speech, the other being his match with the Undertaker, and the last being his hug with Bret Hart on RAW. No one knows how to close like the Heartbreak Kid, that's for sure.

THE 2010 BRAIN BUSTER AWARDS - HONOURABLE MENTIONS

I've already sent in my votes for the first ever Brain Buster Awards over at WrestleSpective. You can too. It's as easy as clicking these very words, the internet will do the rest.

But this post isn't about winners. It's about those that missed the cut, but deserve to be mentioned. Honourably (which is why you'll notice that there's no mention of TNA here).

So let's get to it - my Honourable Mentions for the 2010 Brain Buster Awards:

BEST ANGLE - HONOURABLE MENTION

SHAWN MICHAELS AND BRET HART FRIGGING HUG EACH OTHER

Photo - WWE.com

The above picture was from an alternate universe up until earlier this year, when our past universe and present universe intersected at the same point on the January 4th edition of Monday Night RAW.

Seriously. Think about that. This is FUCKING CRAZY. Normally you "never say never" in the wrestling business, but you also say "don't screw me out of my title for real on worldwide pay-per-view in my home country and expose the business for all to see." If you would've told anyone in 1997 (or any year up until this year, for that matter) that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels would hug on TV, they would slap you in your dirty mouth.

WHY IT DIDN'T GET MY VOTE: This was huge. Beyond huge. In fact I'm watching this back and my entire body is one giant goosebump. My original reasoning for not voting for this was that it seemed too real, or just kind of "above" anything else that happened this year. Daniel Bryan returning, Nexus debuting, all of these things felt like they happened within the realm of the "WWE Universe." While this moment seemed entirely different.

Pretty stupid reasoning, considering how jacked I am after rewatching this segment. Holy crap. I don't care if that hug was the most unnatural thing ever (together they looked like an old dog trying to climb a tree or something), it was the most heartwarming thing to happen in pro wrestling this year (ever?).

BEST PROMO - HONOURABLE MENTION

THE MIZ, CHICKEN CRUMBS & MVP (PART ONE | PART TWO)

Photo - WWE.com

In 2010, The Miz was a golden promo factory. From everything he did on NXT, to "HOW. DARE. EVERYONE?!" to his first promo as WWE Champion. But this promo in particular sticks out as his rise to glory. It's a big middle finger to everyone who ever doubted him, centering around how he was banned from the WWE locker room for eating chicken over a referee's bag, spilling crumbs inside. He also calls out JBL (who is either able to play the biggest, most convincing cock in the world, or just is the biggest cock in the world) for how he belittled him at every turn. It must feel pretty good to hold that WWE Title.

The promo itself is (wait for it) awesome. Just the idea that they let him take this promo all the way from the locker room out to the ring is a testament to how much faith they have in Miz on the mic. It might seem condescending saying how he can "walk AND talk" is exceptional, but it's true. Some guys can't even stand and talk.

WHY IT DIDN'T GET MY VOTE: This entire promo felt real. Like it was coming from the heart. Even MVP brings it, and that almost never happens. But when you look back at 2010, there were just too many great promos to be able to include this one. Not only that, but this was just the beginning for the Miz. The amount he grew from the start of the year to the end is pretty shocking, even for him. It also has MVP in it, so that took it down a notch.

MOST EPIC FAILURE - HONOURABLE MENTION

KANE, EDGE & PAUL BEARER

Photo - WWE.com

Why is it that I can suspend my disbelief and accept that Kane can shoot fireballs, but I can't suspend my disbelief and accept that Edge can get away with kidnapping... or even the idea that Kane would give a shit?

But it's not even the idea of logic or reason that makes this an epic failure. It's almost the opposite. I just can't understand who this is for. It's not funny (it's weird), or compelling (do people care what happens to Paul Bearer?), or logical (Edge's master plan = convoluted and already a failure), or anything (it's nothing). It's at best a terrible waste of pizza and chicken wings.

Just like Colt Cabana said in his podcast, how he'll never think of grapes and not think of Matt Hardy, I will never think of chicken wings and not think of Paul Bearer. What a bizarre idea. Seriously. Can you picture the writer's meeting? It's like one of the writer's has some kind of disturbing food fetish and was like, "what if we covered him in chicken wings and pizza... awww yeah." SO WEIRD. In fact, that writer might play a creepier Kane than Kane ever could.

To go off for a second here, Kane went from being SUPER dominant over the Undertaker, to running around crying every week for a month. I feel like I could write forever about this, so I should probably stop. Does Edge take Paul Bearer to the hotel with him? Drive him to the events? Are they constantly running from Kane up until show time? Surely this is more exhausting for Edge than it is Kane. OKAY I'LL STOP

WWE MATCH OF THE YEAR - HONOURABLE MENTION

THE 2010 ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH

Photo - WWE.com

I've been going back and watching Royal Rumble matches at random lately. How we sat through twenty years of men holding each other against the ropes, I don't know. This match was a great example of what the Royal Rumble could and should be (in 2010, at least).

A match with 30 guys in it is the perfect opportunity for the WWE to exercise their "Action Entertainment" muscle. When you see Randy Orton and John Cena in an Iron Man Match, going at it for sixty minutes, and there's different stories and moments and fully-thought out sequences the entire way through - that's a great example of "Action Entertainment" (JBL trying to run over John Cena with a car like we're in a live CSI episode, not a great example).

From CM Punk's in-match sermons; to Beth Phoenix eliminating Khali; to Shawn Michaels' DX-imploding, Undertaker-chasing, elimination-fest; to Edge's bearded return, this match was full of everything you could ask for (and not an hour of stomping and rope-hugging).

WHY IT DIDN'T GET MY VOTE: When it comes down to it, even though we're in the age of multiman matches and themed PPVs and whatnot, I still feel like a traditional one-on-one or two-on-two match should take the honour of MOTY, unless of course there's an undeniably incredible multiman match. This Rumble match was close - it's not like it was just a MITB spotfest with no story, no no... what made this match so good was the stories told within it.

INDEPENDENT MATCH OF THE YEAR - HONOURABLE MENTION

KEVIN STEEN VS. EL GENERICO - ROH FINAL BATTLE 2010

This is obviously hyperbole and not fair and so on and so forth. But I don't care. I just hope I don't let my fanboy brain hype this match up so high in my imagination that I'm let down by-- what am I saying this will rule holy crap I can't waitjdjhvsbhfjhkzj,bnf,zn.

WHY IT DIDN'T GET MY VOTE: It, uh, hasn't happened yet.

BEST MEN'S WWE WRESTLER - HONOURABLE MENTION

ALBERTO DEL RIO

Photo - WWE.com

I was ready to just give Alberto the vote. There are only a handful of WWE wrestlers I can say that genuinely entertain me every time they appear on the screen, and he is one of them (but you already knew that). He's damn near flawless in the ring, and I think his genetic fibre is made of CHARISMA.

WHY HE DIDN'T GET MY VOTE: The only thing holding him back was time. Del Rio debuted in August, and while he was thrust into the main event picture (the only place he belongs), he hasn't really had a high profile match outside of his Smackdown! main event against Mysterio (and one more against Mysterio and Edge). But I will put money on him being the biggest thing to happen to WWE next year.

BEST MEN'S INDEPENDENT WRESTLER - HONOURABLE MENTION

TYLER BLACK

Photo - Scott Finkelstein's Get Lost Photography

Even the haters have to admit that Tyler Black had a stellar year. And even if you don't accept that, he still made headlines. Check out this brief Tyler Black timeline:

- Won the ROH World Championship from Austin Aries at ROH's 8th Anniversary Show

- Successfully defended vs. Roderick Strong & Austin Aries at the Big Bang

- Successfully defended vs. Roderick Strong at Supercard of Honor V (took out three refs between the two of them)

- Successfully defended vs. Davey Richards in the Match of the Year at Death Before Dishonor VIII

- Signed a WWE contract as the ROH World Champion

- Cut the best promo of his life

- Lost the ROH World Title to Roderick Strong at Glory By Honor IX

How can you discount a guy who can draw such polarizing reactions from a crowd at any given time. From the massive pop for his finishing sequence at 8th Anniversary where he won the strap, to the violent boos from the New York and Toronto crowds where NO ONE was on his side. And in the midst of all that, he wrestled in the greatest match of 2010 (in my humble fanboy opinion). AND that's not even counting all of the events in between the iPPVs. Holy.

SO WHY DIDN'T HE GET MY VOTE: While Tyler may have done all that, there where other guys who stepped up and came into their own this year that needed to be recognized. But if Tyler Black shows up on RAW tonight and does something cool then I'll change my vote. Because that'd be crazy.

BEST TAG TEAM & WOMEN'S WRESTLER - HONOURABLE MENTION

THE HART DYNASTY & NATALYA

Photo - WWE.com

Why they are getting an honourable mention should be pretty obvious. For the start of the year, with Uncle Bret by their side, they were the hottest face stable going (maybe the only one... but whatever!). They would get big pops for their wins, and just look super fucking cool walking out together, and with Bret Hart and Natalya at ringside.

But then for the rest of the year, Tyson and DH were barely used, potentially because they had no one to wrestle besides the Uso's, who get crowd reactions like Dana White gets the internet.

For Natalya, it was the opposite. She started the year pretty much as a valet for the Harts. That worked totally well and stuff, but why they weren't using her in the ring as well is beyond me. She is a breath of fresh air in the Divas divison - she uses suplexes! But it wasn't until the past little while that she had the spotlight all to herself.

WHY THEY DIDN'T GET MY VOTE: While all three of them had bright spots throughout the year, consistency was definitely an issue (although that's not their fault in the slightest).

These are the ones that didn't make my ballot (I feel like a big loser calling it a ballot). Want to see what ones could have? Go and put in your votes for the 2010 Brain Buster Awards, and then sometime after the deadline on December 22nd, check out who and what came out on top as voted by you and the Power Poll voters.

Now I'm going to prepare* for the three hour Slammy edition of RAW.

* = get blind drunk.