The John Report Presents: The 2013 WWE Johnny Awards (Part 2)

This is part two. You can read part one RIGHT HERE.

11. THE "NEXT BIG THING" AWARD

To be given to the wrestler that is most likely to be the "next big thing" in the new year. Past winners - 2012: Dolph Ziggler, 2011: Cody Rhodes, 2010 winner: Alberto Del Rio, 2009 winner: John Morrison

Winner: Roman Reigns (Runners-Up: Big E Langston, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins)

The WWE roster is loaded with talent. A year ago would I have expected to pick Roman Reigns for this award? No. It's not as if he has come out of nowhere, but compared to his Shield brethren he definitely had less hype than them. He's grown so much this year as a performer. His size will certainly help him going forward. The Spear he does is as devastating as anybody that's ever done it except maybe Goldberg, who was the best at it. I've never been much of a Goldberg fan, but I give him props for that. Reigns could be a main eventer in 2014. It might happen in 2015, though, if they choose to use 2014 as a year to build him up. Keep an eye on him. He'll be a star.

The others I mentioned all deserve a lot of praise too. Langston has the size that we know WWE management loves. Wyatt has a gimmick that will allow him to stick out from the pack. Ambrose & Rollins have very bright futures as does Reigns, but I think Roman is going to get the bigger push before them. We saw it at Survivor Series. It will build from there.

12. BEST HEEL

To be given to the performer that is the best at drawing the ire of the audience. Past winners 2012: Daniel Bryan, 2011: Christian. Award began in 2011.

Winner: Paul Heyman (Runners-Up: The Shield, The Wyatt Family, CM Punk)

I really wanted to give this to CM Punk since he's an all-time great heel in my opinion, but his heel run didn't last long enough. It ended at WrestleMania because after he took a couple of months off, he came back as a babyface. Due to that, I have to give it to a non-wrestler in Paul Heyman.

Heyman is one of the best non-wrestling heels ever right up there with Bobby Heenan. The role of the manager is to talk for your client, help them when they need it and when the time is right take an ass kicking of your own as well. Heyman's not the kind of heel that wants to make jokes to make people laugh. The guy's an insensitive, selfish jerk that will tell it to your face and then hide behind whoever he is managing to avoid an ass-kicking that he knows he deserves.

I added The Shield in as runners up because they were main event heels as a tag team. You don't see that often. With their impending breakup happening likely in early 2014 their run will be over soon. I'm glad they were pushed the way they were because it was one of the best things about WWE in 2013. The Wyatt Family gets an honorable mention because they are creepy heels that allow them to stand out from the pack. Their future is very bright.

My last point regarding best heel is that I think if Brock Lesnar worked a full time schedule he would absolutely run away with this award. He's the epitome of a badass bully heel that can have great matches along the way.

13. BEST BABYFACE

To be given to the performer that is the best at receiving the adulation of the audience. Past winners - 2012: John Cena, 2011: Randy Orton. Award began in 2011.

Winner: Daniel Bryan (Runners-Up: CM Punk, John Cena)

This is a no contest really. Nobody connected with the crowd better in 2013 than Daniel Bryan. The fans absolutely love him as they chant "yes" for everything he does and when he gains momentum on offense they get behind him as well as anybody. I realize that a lot of the popularity is based on chanting something easy like "yes" and the kids in the crowd can get behind it pretty easily too. It's similar to the "what" thing that Steve Austin did. What's interesting is both of those chants started when each guy was a heel. Bryan's WWE Title win at SummerSlam was one of the happiest moments of the year because of how hard he fought to get there. It also made it all the more painful when he lost the title moments later. Not only is he a successful babyface, but he's also a sympathetic one due to his size as one of the smaller performers in the company. The great thing about Bryan's face run is we're still very early into it. He has years as a babyface ahead of him and he's in the prime of his career. The best could be yet to come for him.

The two runners-up are obviously Punk and Cena just because of who they are, how they are positioned as talents and the reactions they receive. Punk's not necessarily the most likable guy based on his persona, but he's been around long enough that he's going to get the big ovations from the audience. They know he can talk as well as anybody, make smartass remarks when necessary and of course back it up in the ring as well.

I know that Cena gets booed at various points, but he's the biggest babyface to the youngest WWE viewers. He's their Hogan, Austin or Rock. Like it or not that's how it is. And I don't see him turning heel any time soon or possibly ever.

14. BEST CROWD

To be given to the city that had the best fans for a particular WWE event. Past winners - 2012: Miami for WrestleMania 28 & Raw, 2011: Chicago for Money in the Bank.  Award began in 2011.

Winner: East Rutherford, New Jersey @ Raw April 8 (Runner-Up: Chicago for Payback)

The night after WrestleMania has turned into the most memorable Raw of the year in a lot of ways because many of the people that attend the show were also at WrestleMania. They tend to be the "smart" fans that will chant insider references or support the heels instead of the faces. This year's crowd had a lot of fans from the UK that traveled for WM and stayed for Raw. They were boisterous all night. Remember how disinterested they were in Orton vs. Sheamus? They chanted random things to entertain themselves. I'll never forget it and I doubt either of those guys will forget it either. They also did an awesome job when Dolph Ziggler cashed in the Money in the Bank contract to win the World Title. It was also the night that "Fandago-ing" became a thing too.

Here's a youtube video that features some of the epic crowd chants from that night. It's 35 minutes long, so maybe check it out when I'm done this column.

The usual good cities like Chicago, Toronto, London (England) and Brooklyn deserve praise too. I just think the best one was the night after WrestleMania in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  

15. BEST INDIVIDUAL PROMO

To be given to the one speech that was the best in the last year. 2012: Kane's Speech at Anger Management @ Raw August 27

Winner: Mark Henry @ Raw June 17 (Runner-Up: CM Punk & Paul Heyman @ Raw July 22, CM Punk tells The Rock his arms are too short to box with God @ Raw Jan 7)

This is a no brainer to me. Mark Henry's promo from Raw on June 17th was the most memorable one this year. Henry has gone through periods in the last year where he was inactive due to various injuries. That's the wrestling business. The guy is in his early 40s and he's been doing it for nearly 20 years at this point. Guys get hurt. We all know that's how it is. So when Henry was in the ring delivering this promo about how he had to retire we believed him. Part of me thought no way this is legit because John Cena was standing there on the apron, so I knew it was an angle. But then I heard Mark speak and it felt legit. Remember when he cried talking about his kids? The crowd cheered him because they bought it too. Henry said "baby I'm coming home." Cena held up his arm, then went in for a hug and Henry dropped him with the World's Strongest Slam. "I got a lot left in the tank!" It led to a WWE Title match for Henry, which Cena won of course, but that promo was the best of the year.

There were many Punk/Heyman dueling promos that I could mention here, but I'm picking the one from the July 22nd edition of Raw. One week earlier, Heyman turned on Punk at Money in the Bank and then the next night on Raw, Brock Lesnar showed up to destroy Punk. It was one of the best brawls of the year although it was mostly Brock having the advantage. That led to this promo with Punk showing a lot of emotion in talking about his former best friend Paul Heyman and Lesnar. Heyman, the cowardly heel that he is, only appeared on the video wall because he was too scared to face Punk in person. After Lesnar's attack and that promo I was all set for SummerSlam. That's how you sell a big match. (Video)

I originally left out CM Punk's first promo talking to The Rock. I don't know why I did. I guess I forgot how great it was. The big line that Punk uttered was this: "Your arms are just too short to box with God." Great work by both guys. Two of the best talkers ever. (Video)

There are plenty of others worth mentioning. It's hard to remember them all or write about them, so I'll just pick those three as ones that stood out to me. I'm sure there are dozens of others that you could recall that are worthy of consideration as well.

16. BEST TURN

To be given to the best babyface or heel turn that benefitted the performer the most. Past winners - 2012: Big Show, 2011: Mark Henry, 2010 winner: Kane, 2009: CM Punk

Winner: Randy Orton (Runners-Up: Cody Rhodes)

I was very bored with face Orton. See that crowd reaction at the Raw after WrestleMania where they completely crapped on his match with Sheamus? The fans were sick of face Orton too. I think he was too since he would mention it on Twitter once in a while. Ever since he turned face in 2010 there were always rumors of a heel turn because we all know he's better in that role. When he turned heel at SummerSlam it was the best thing for him. His performance on the most recent edition of Raw against Daniel Bryan was his best of the year. Why? Because it took him time to find his comfort zone. He's there now. I'm glad to see it.

The booking of Cody Rhodes in the second half of the year has been really good. He was part of the Rhodes Scholars team with Damien Sandow. There weren't too many signs of a split coming until the Money in the Bank match when Rhodes was ready to grab the briefcase and Sandow shoved him off the ladder. Sandow defended the move by saying he did what he had to do while Cody was pissed off that his "best friend" would do that. Sadly that feud didn't live up to its potential because of poor booking (in the old days they may have had a 20 minute cage match to settle it), but Cody's angle with The Authority helped him a lot. Then he started teaming with his brother Goldust and it showed that his turn was the right move for him.

17. THE "KTFO" AWARD

To be given to the person or thing that deserves to be KNOCKED THE F**K OUT~! Past winners - 2012: Teddy Long, 2011: Michael Cole, 2010 winner: The anonymous GM angle, 2009 winner: Michael Cole

Winner: The Great Khali (Runner Up: The WWE App)

I always feel bad about doing this award because I'm really not a violent person. I don't even say the word "hate" ever. I tend to go with dislike because I feel like hate is too strong of a word. The idea behind this award is giving it to the individual that makes me want to turn off the TV and not watch anymore because they're so bad as a performer or maybe they are booked poorly.

This year I'm going with The Great Khali because every time I hear that "ayayayaya" at the start of his song I just cringe watching him walk to the ring. I get why WWE puts him out there since they have fans in India and they probably get good money from their TV deal with them, so they feel obligated to do it. It's just that there's never a good Khali moment or match. The comedy stuff they do with him isn't even funny. Maybe it was 7 years ago, but not now.

The runner up is the WWE App. Yes WWE we know you have an App. Shut up about it, please.

I want to be positive, though. Let's celebrate that Teddy Long isn't on TV anymore! Holla holla holla tag match playa!

18. MOST IMPROVED PERFORMER

To be given to the performer that has shown the most improvement in the last year. Past winners - 2012: Ryback, 2011: Zack Ryder, 2010 winner: Cody Rhodes, 2009: Kofi Kingston

Winner: Roman Reigns (Runners-Up: Brie Bella)

When The Shield showed up at Survivor Series 2012 I knew a lot about Seth Rollins (aka Tyler Black) and Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) from watching their matches in ROH or the indies. I remember an Ambrose/Punk match from NXT that was outstanding. When they first showed up Reigns was the guy we didn't know much about. He didn't wrestle a lot in the indies. He was a guy WWE signed as a former football player who had family ties in the wrestling business as part of that big Samoan wrestling family. As the year went on, Reigns really started to stand out. I can remember a singles match with Daniel Bryan on Raw that was as good as the matches that Rollins and Ambrose had with Bryan, or at least it was very close to that. Once he started using the Spear as a finisher it gave him an impactful move that he did better than anybody. It plays into his football background. As a talker he's not fully developed yet, but in terms of his in-ring performance the guy is very good at what he does. A year of working with Rollins & Ambrose and going against the likes of Bryan, Kane, Punk and others has made him better. His hard work is paying off. Going into 2014, he's truly a star on the rise.

It's hard to think of people for this award because the roster is so big. There are more people not being used than have improved as performers. I thought of Brie Bella because she went from a woman that sometimes looked lost in the ring in other years to somebody that is very confident with a good arsenal of moves. She's talked about how she learned a lot from her fiancée Daniel Bryan, which makes sense because he's the best in the world. As long as she keeps working at it and is dedicated to it she'll continue to improve as an in-ring performer.

19. BEST VIDEO PACKAGE

To be given to the best video package that highlights a feud, performer or other event. Past winners - 2012: Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena @ Extreme Rules, 2011: The "Macho Man" Randy Savage tribute video, 2010 winner: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

Winner: CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar @ SummerSlam (Runners-Up: John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan @ SummerSlam, CM Punk vs. The Rock @ Royal Rumble)

The WWE production team is outstanding. If you watch WWE programming than you know it. Watch the video building up to the Lesnar/Punk match and you can see why it's my choice for the winner of this award.

The video captured everything that made the feud so great. It covered CM Punk's genuine friendship with Paul Heyman, the attack by Heyman at Money in the Bank, Lesnar showing up to attack Punk, the great promos and Punk's heart in fighting back against his former best friend that had the bully by his side.

I loved the Cena/Bryan video for SummerSlam because it showed why Daniel Bryan is such a beloved performer. He has worked so hard to get where he is. The buildup saw Vince McMahon and Triple H get involved with Vince trying to change Bryan while Hunter showed his support for him even though he ended up going heel. The purpose of these videos is to get people excited for a match. This got the job done. (Video)

The Rock's return at the start of the year was a big deal although it was so obvious that he was going to win the matches he had with Punk that the rivalry lost some of its luster. With that said, the video they put together to build to the first showdown at Royal Rumble was memorable and that's why I had to mention it here. (Video)

20. MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

To be given to the most memorable moment of the year. Past winners - 2012: Brock Lesnar's Return April 2 on Raw, 2011: CM Punk's Promo June 27 on Raw, 2010 winner: Bret & Shawn embrace in the ring, 2009 winner: The Undertaker/Michaels match

Winner: Daniel Bryan wins WWE Title leading to heel Triple H/Orton (Runners up: Dolph Ziggler wins World Title on Raw after WrestleMania, Chris Jericho's return at the Royal Rumble)

I already covered the greatness of SummerSlam earlier. I think for an award like this you have to pick the one moment that you'll remember the year by. For me it's the end of SummerSlam. Was it predictable that Bryan would beat Cena? Yes because we knew Cena had to take time off for triceps surgery. Was it predictable that Triple H would turn heel? Yes it was. Was it predictable that Randy Orton would leave as WWE Champion after cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase? Yep. That doesn't make it any less memorable, though. Within a few minutes the fans went from the joy of Bryan becoming WWE Champion for the first time to sadness after he was the victim of a heel turn. That's pro wrestling. The booking of the angle could have been better over the next couple of months, but that was the most memorable moment of 2013 to me.

The Dolph Ziggler World Title victory the night after WrestleMania was also a big deal. It was one of the loudest ovations in any WWE arena this year. This is another case of WWE failing to capitalize on momentum because Ziggler got a concussion, they had him lose the title when he was able to return and gave him a face turn that didn't really work. Now he's stuck in the midcard again and who knows what his future holds.

I didn't expect Chris Jericho at the Royal Rumble. It wasn't really rumored either. It came out of nowhere. The first entrant in the Rumble was Ziggler. Number two was Jericho. When his music hit I had a genuine reaction of joy because one of my favorite wrestlers ever was back "home" so to speak. I've read in interviews with Jericho this year where he said that ovation he received was one of the best moments of his career. He's right about that.

THE MINOR AWARDS

These are other awards/random thoughts that I basically made up off the top of my head without going into full details. There are 10 of them. I could do more, but this is a long enough column as it is.

Biggest off screen news story - The WWE Network still isn't here

The first WWE Network video aired at the end of 2011. In the video it said that the WWE Network is coming in 2012. Two years later it's still not here. The story goes that in early January they plan to announce details of the WWE Network and then at some point we'll get to see the Network in all its glory. It's a good thing that WWE is taking their time with it, but I still have no idea why they would air that video two years ago when they had no idea when it was going to launch.

Best non-wrestler - Paul Heyman

He wins this again. No brainer. I think Zeb Colter is very good too. I used to think highly of Vickie Guerrero, but the act is getting really stale now.

Best finishing move - Antonio Cesaro's Neutralizer

I love that move. I wish he did it more often. Of course, the Cesaro Swing is what gets him the biggest reaction these days and may end up turning him babyface soon.

Most disappointing trend - Awful PPV Main Event Finishes

There was the fast count finish at Night of Champions, the non-finish at Battleground, the overbooked finish at Hell in a Cell with plenty of people taking bumps and then the boring finish at Survivor Series that ended Big Show's main event run that shouldn't have happened. I don't know who came up with all those finishes, but they really didn't help anybody or get people over the way they should.

Best sign on WWE TV/PPV - "Don't hinder Jinder"

So random. So awesome. Plus, I didn't want to feel like an egomaniac and give it to another sign that said "The John Report" on it. There were several of those this year (here's a collection of them), but I felt like honoring the "Don't hinder Jinder" sign this year. I'm considerate like that.

Best comeback - Goldust

This is a no brainer. I didn't even have this award last year, but I had to include it to acknowledge the return of Goldust to WWE this year. He went from working indie shows to having that huge match with Randy Orton that impressed WWE officials so much they gave him a contract. Not only that, but he won the tag titles with his brother Cody. At 44 years old I don't know how much he has left. I'm just glad he had a chance to go on this current run he's on.

Best announcer - John Bradshaw Layfield

There aren't too many announcers in WWE anymore since Michael Cole & John Layfield are on both Raw and Smackdown. Jerry Lawler is way past his prime, but he's been there for over 20 years that I doubt he's going to just quit or be fired. I think JBL is the best of them because he's an old school heel announcer. He'll always defend the heels. That's what I like about him. I think he could do a better job of it, but I blame the producers because the announcers are only doing what they are told. It would be nice if the announcers called moves better because that's what helps to get moves over.

I'm so happy Renee Young has found a home in WWE. I knew her pretty well before she was in WWE and she's a big fan of the company that she now works for. Her future is very bright.

Best DVD/Blu-Ray - History of WWE

I watched the History of WWE DVD within the last week, so it's fresh in my mind. The documentary was over two hours long and did a tremendous job of providing insight into how WWE has grown over the 50 years of its existence. I also need to acknowledge the Triple H DVD because that was really well done too.

Most poorly used performer - Dolph Ziggler

He was in the main event of TLC a year ago. Four months later he won the World Title on Raw, which led to one of the biggest ovations of the year. Now? He has no feud or direction and he wrestled in the Kickoff Match at TLC. I'm not exactly sure why WWE management has downgraded him. The prevailing thought is that it was something he said in an interview, but I don't know how true that is.

Best WWE TV Show - NXT

The last award goes to NXT because it's a show I enjoy so much. I realize that what happens on NXT isn't as important as what happens on Raw or Smackdown, but in terms of the best show from week to week I think NXT beats them in terms of its consistency. Maybe I like it more because I don't write about it. That could help. I sit there every week writing 5,000+ words about 3 hour Raw week after week and it can get tiresome. NXT has an old school feel to it and is the WWE show I enjoy the most right now.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON WWE IN 2013

Since I always like to rate the shows out of 10, how about a rating for the year? Here's how I rated the last five years.

2009: 5.5

2010: 5

2011: 7

2012: 7

This year? I'm going with a 6.5 out of 10.

There's a bit of a drop off from the last two years, but it's not much. The last four months have been tough to get through. There have been a lot of things that have frustrated me towards the end of the year. I think it's fair to say the hottest period was May through April. There were a lot of good things happening at that point. Once SummerSlam hit things started to go back down. I hope that WWE can find that consistency in the new year as we head to the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and beyond. There will always be down time, but I hope things stay consistent all year round as opposed to what we got in 2013.

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If you made it through this 8,500+ word article I thank you very much for that. I don't expect everybody to agree with all of my choices. I hope it creates some discussion, so be sure to send me your thoughts on the awards whether it's by commenting on the article itself, via email, Facebook, Twitter or however you want to get in touch with me. Your feedback means a lot to me.

I say this every year and I'm doing it again this year. This is my favorite column to write every year. If you're one of those people that reads a lot of my work without writing this is one of those times where I'm asking for your thoughts because I want to know what you thought. Don't be shy. I reply to all emails.

Thank you to my good friend Steve Melo for the banner you saw at the top of this post and the banners in every one of my columns including the always fun "preferred" Raw Deal banners. We went to a house show in September that didn't have a great lineup, but we sat row one dead center and it was one of the best WWE experiences of my life. Go see the WWE live. You'll enjoy it.

This isn't the last column of the year, but I'm still going to wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and a Happy New Year as well.

As I said, please don't hesitate to contact me. The info is below. Thanks so much for reading!

John Canton - mrjohncanton@gmail.com

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