Classic veteran versus an up and comer match. NOAH s loss has been indy Mexico s gain, with an alway

The first Voices of Wrestling Match of the Year poll was conducted at the end of 2012, with a modest four man panel (I guess you can call us the Orginial 4 ), consisting of three VoW contributers (myself, Rich Kraetsch, Larry ), plus Billy Carpenter hotels in mexico beach florida of (then) #HashtagWrestling. We each selected our ten best matches of the year, wrote short blurbs on why we selected what we did, and combined the lists to come up with a collaborative top ten. The first ever VoW Match of the Year list ended up looking like this:
A fine list of matches, but a list that was the product of four voters who for the most part have very similar tastes in wrestling. There was a ton of crossover in the four lists, and while an impressive variety of five different promotions ultimately ended up represented in the top ten, we were basically dealing hotels in mexico beach florida with a small pool of voters that essentially hotels in mexico beach florida watched the same pool of matches over the course of the year.
This year, we decided to branch out and seek the input of a wider range of voters. We sent ballots hotels in mexico beach florida to dozens of journalists, bloggers (promotion specific otherwise), radio hosts, podcasters, experts, friends of the site, and pretty much anybody else we could think of who we knew loved wrestling, had a reputation for having a solid base of knowledge strong opinions, and had quality endeavors that we could help expose to our readers in exchange for participating.
We were quite ambitious in who we invited, which included a who s who of major names in the wrestling media from literally all over the world. We knew not everybody would respond, but we were quite pleased with who did, and we feel like the results hotels in mexico beach florida bear out the variety of matches wrestling styles that we were seeking. 25 voters voted for over 90 matches, from 23 different hotels in mexico beach florida promotions. To me, the 23 promotions represented is the most impressive hotels in mexico beach florida stat in the poll, when you consider that the two most high profile promotions in the world, WWE New Japan, were so outstanding bell to bell this year that many people feel that each promotion may have had their best in ring year ever. And despite those two promotions having so many great matches that ended up eating a large chunk of spots on many of the ballots, 21 other promotions still managed to receive some love.
We re going to keep doing this every year, and we hope it continues to grow. We received feedback from many potential voters who chose not to submit ballots hotels in mexico beach florida this year, simply because they weren t prepared and didn t feel as though hotels in mexico beach florida they had the time to put in the work and re-watch enough hotels in mexico beach florida matches. In a way, that is a high compliment, and we hope those people are ready for the next invite hotels in mexico beach florida and jump on board next year. In addition, we re already working on expanding the list of voters, and plan on sending out almost double the amount of ballots that we sent this year. We hope to look back at our 2013 pool of 25 voters as too small a sample, as we now do at our original pool of four. The more diversity, the better.
The long term goal is to become hotels in mexico beach florida the most comprehensive and inclusive MOTY poll in all of wrestling, cross promote a bunch of cool ventures, and expose people to some matches that they otherwise would have never discovered (to that point, one match that ended up doing very well in the final voting nearly ended up on my own list, after checking it out based on the early support it was receiving). Hopefully we succeed on all counts.
hotels in mexico beach florida Each voter was sent a ballot and asked to vote for their ten best matches of the year, ranking them from 1-10. We used the same weighted balloting system used by Major League Baseball for their Most Valuable Player voting, with a first place vote worth 14 points, and a descending 9-8-7 scale from there.
As an example, if two matches are tied in points, with one match appearing on more total ballots, it will not require the second step tie breaker. The match appearing on more total ballots would place higher.
Any worked match on earth during the Observer calendar (December hotels in mexico beach florida 1 2012 November 30 2013) was eligible. We chose to use the Observer calendar because hotels in mexico beach florida we knew many potential voters work very hard all year compiling lists of their favorite matches based on that time frame. We are considering hotels in mexico beach florida changing hotels in mexico beach florida the voting period moving forward to the real calendar, with a one year 13-month calendar that would run December 1 2013 December 31 2014 for next year s poll to set things back on pace. But we have a year to figure hotels in mexico beach florida that out. We ll announce any changes to the calendar by the summer so voters have time to prepare.
Here are the list of voters (with their credentials), all of whom worked very hard, re-watched dozens of matches, and took their ballots very seriously. We thank them for their hard work. We re proud of who who chose to participate, and we believe this impressive list of names helps give the poll instant credibility. In no particular order:
yottsume ( @puro_yottsume ) English translations of Japanese press conferences, shows, and more here . yottsume also does popular live promo/announcing translations hotels in mexico beach florida during iPPV s on his twitter feed.
Dylan Hales The infamous DylanWaco, the bizarro world answer to Joe Lanza, as you will never find two people with more opposite tastes in wrestling. Probably watches more pro wrestling than any person on the planet, famous maker of lists, Co-host of The Wrestling Culture Podcast , ProWrestlingOnly.com . The first person I thought of when we decided to expand hotels in mexico beach florida the voter pool.
Jon Solomon ( @JonTheEmpire hotels in mexico beach florida ) Voices of Wrestling contributor, authored the Evolution of Sting series that is still one of our most popular hotels in mexico beach florida series of articles of all time. Has also contributed to 411Mania.com/MMA, and @MMAFlash.
In a series of articles that will follow over the next week or so, we will reveal the matches that finished 26-50, 16-25, and 1-15. There will also be a wrap up article with all sorts of wacky stats, like number of matches per promotion, a ranking of wrestlers with the most total points, months with the most matches, and whatever else we can coax Chris Harrington into doing.
The more I think about this match, the more I feel it is my favorite indie match of the year to date. They called back to Ophidian s obsession with collecting masks at the end of the match, while Amasis hotels in mexico beach florida babyface fire was almost as hot as the sweltering, poorly-cooled building in the beginning of an oppressive summer. hotels in mexico beach florida My favorite part of the match, however, was that both combatants actually tried to block each other s volleys. On a scene where wrestlers are too eager to offer their faces to damage in some sort of macho bullshit bravado, a sense of strategy was well-appreciated.
A match forgotten about because of the shenanigans Chikara got up to at the end of the show. The idea of Luchador ants fighting Demolition knock-offs may sound too silly to take seriously, but it was a chaotic trios match that spread all over ringside and delivered more than anybody expected.
The only time of the year Rush got a tecnico reaction as he faces the evil foreigner in a match with stiff strikes and one of the best finishes of the year as Rush just kills Nakamura dead with a dropkick and then drops him on his head to the delight of the crowd. An incredible match to watch live.
An excellent technical battle enhanced by a first time ever CMLL stipulation. They used the submission rule to tell a match which might have not worked as well without it. Panther breaking out the multiple tope spot worked better here than the last time, and the finish hotels in mexico beach florida was fitting for these two characters. Time is catching up to Blue Panther, but he was able to hold it of for one more match. Averno remains a great scheming heel who could work well with anyone.
Probably the most unheralded great match of the year. This was from the (relatively) brief period when Cesaro was consistently getting time to showcase his skills in fifteen-twenty minute matches on the companies C-Show, often times against bigger stars.
On paper this looks like something that would be hard hitting, but this delivered much more than that, as it was a match built around escalating spots, both guys busting out everything they had, and Sheamus desperately trying to get a kill shot in, in the face of a massive, varied, bomb throwing, onslaught. A truly excellent TV match, with a finish that left both guys looking strong.
So this ruled. hotels in mexico beach florida First match was great. This was even better. I will never get old of Kingston selling his leg. It is always something that gets me to think the other person has a shot even though I know they really don t. Its just super grand.
Green Ant was willing to kill himself on that nutty bump from the top rope to the apron which doesn t hurt. Kingston is the bestest really. The best independent match of the year in my eyes perfectly showing what makes Kingston one of the best on the scene and Green Ant on the brink of becoming an independent stud.
The real life boyfriend/girlfriend combo held nothing back and worked hotels in mexico beach florida one of the chippiest, most hate-filled matches of the year. The funny thing was that they weren t really feuding to go into this match, per se. Both the Callihan and Havok personae hotels in mexico beach florida are so intense that anything short of annihilation would have been a disappointment. This match delivered on all fronts. Spit was swapped hotels in mexico beach florida (non-romantically), the barricades were shaken, and nothing was off-limits. hotels in mexico beach florida It was a fitting part of Callihan s farewell to the indies and Havok s ascension to hardcore icon, regardless of gender.
Classic veteran versus an up and comer match. NOAH s loss has been indy Mexico hotels in mexico beach florida s gain, with an always slightly annoyed hotels in mexico beach florida Marvin having quality matches every time he turns up. Marvin is great as always here, but this is just as much a breakthru performance for the obscure hotels in mexico beach florida Belial. He made a name for himself here by taking the international superstar father than anyone expected him to go, having his best match every at the best time.
The three top Jr. Heavyweights all against each other on