Its an easy cope out to call someone an HBK mark but truthfully out of everyone in the "E" it was always Michaels who made for must see tv/ppv. Michaels never gave you a match not worth seeing, unlike a few of the "e"'s top stars. Y2J/HBK was an easy pick as feud of the year, while the drama and thesymbolic ending to the Flair/HBK match. It wasnt Savage/Steamboat but Michaerls actually made you care about watching a 50plus year old Flair in a wrestling match. Let them say what they want, but Michaels had an incredible year.

No arguments from me, Kevin. Michaels was hot all year. His feuds, his matches, and everything he was involved in became pure gold. I may not be a huge fan of the conceptual story with JBL, but there's no denying that Michaels is making it compelling television.

You chose correctly.

Count me as a HBK non-mark; I've disliked his character since his heel turn on Janetty many moons ago and after reading "Hitman" I doubt that I ever will like him or his character until I read his version of events (not just Montreal, but the whole picutre that Bret Hart paints as to who Michaels really was back then).

That said, he remains a top notch performer but I would have given top wrestler to Edge. Edge carried the Smackdown brand far more then Michaels did for Raw and his in ring work is just as good. Sure you could flip a coin, but that's where my money would go.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I almost went with Edge and a strong case can be made for him.

nah man

Y2J = wrestler of the year
edge vs undertaker WM24 match of yr

but the feud is the same bro

Hi Kevin, I do absolutely agree with you in the Michaels incredible 2008 year. In addition I would like to ask if you (or anybody) think that Michaels will have one last championship reign before retiring. I think he deserves it

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I do think he'll get one more.

Kevin,

You write a blog which by definition is a description of your thoughts and feelings. It is there to evoke discussion and entertain. It is also free, and i personally always look forward to your next post whether i agree or not. I really don't understand the criticism. Maybe people should write their own blog and see if it is as well written and interesting as yours, because as the Rock said 'It doesn't matter what you think!'
Thanks again for a great blog

Nick

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I appreciate the kind words. I wasn't really looking for validation or an ego boost. Just wanted to explain in further detial how I went about the process.

Kev - In light of the fact you didn't receive as many comments as you expected, I am surprised you felt compelled to defend your opinion at all.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: You're probably right. The one area in which I might be oversensitive is when people question my objectivity.

Eck...this man crush on Michaels is quite amusing. Everytime I see your picture now on the blog, I see you and HBK two-straw sipping a milkshake together in a little thought cloud above it.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: OK, that is funny. Insert Mickie James in place of Michaels with the milkshake and you'd be absolutely right.

Hey Kev, I have been reading this blog for almost a year now, and to be honest you have always given a great insight into pro-wrestling. It is a shame that you feel that you have to write an entry where you have to explain why you picked Michaels for 3 categories. The fact is, you put your Scott Steiner interview (both parts) up, and he is far from a fan of HBK, it seems you have always been balanced in your blog.

That being said, I would have given AJ Styles the Wrestler of the Year.

I'm not even a huge Michaels fan, but you're 100% right on all three categories. Nobody else deserved those awards. Superstar of the Year, I think one could make a case for Chris Jericho, but Michaels had that great match and program with Ric Flair, which puts him over the top.

Guys like Edge, Orton, Cena all missed time.

Kev,

Michaels was a reasonable choice. No need to re-justify your picks.

It is disappointing though that none of the younger guys are able to step up to the plate and entertain at the same level for whatever reason. Maybe Orton this year if he stays healthy....

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Agree on Orton. He's my "preseason" pick for 2009 Wrestler of the Year. as you said, if he stays healthy, this should be his year.

Hey Kevin,

Honestly, I think you have alot of it right. My favorite wrestler, since getting back into the WWE a year a go, is Randy Orton. Their is no way that I can say he was the best wrestler of the year due to injury.

The only thing I may disagree with is giving Michaels and Flair Match of the Year. I do think it was one of the most memorable moments of all time but I view the title of match of the year differently. I think it should be the best worked match of the year. I don't really have an example right now but I do think it's possible the money in the bank ladder match, Taker/Edge hell in a cell, or several of the Hardy/HHH matches. Just my opinion of the course.

Shawn Michaels, Wrestler of the Year? I don't think so, but I do believe you do.

I didn't comment on the original article because the write-up provided enough support to understand your decision.

Personally, though, when I think of "Wrestler of the Year," I liken it to Best Actor/Actress of the Year, not Best Supporting Actor/Actress of the Year. I think Shawn Michaels would admit proudly that he is a supporting character these days, so I would not have him on my radar for Wrestler of the Year due to his inactivity at the highest level of competition.

That virtually closes the category to everyone but HHH, Edge, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, John Cena, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Sting, and Randy Orton. Still I think solid cases could be made for half of them as Wrestler of the Year, and in my opinion, the category represents exclusivity.

Regardless, you made indirect notes in the original article about Shawn's promo stealing the show at SummerSlam and, while he did not work many (if any) TV matches after WrestleMania through Unforgiven, his promo segments often shined as the highlights of the night (or at least, a bright spot on each broadcast).

Yes you're an HBK mark, but every wrestling fan is a mark of some wrestler or wrestlers to a certain extent. At the end of the day, you could make a case for any number of wrestlers as wrestler of the year, HBK being one of them. If anything I thought your selection of Kelly Kelly as most improved was the most wrong choice, but then again she did improve from an F-minus minus minus minus minus minus to an F-plus. Regardless, it's your blog and you can pick whoever you want, and really shouldn't worry about having to explain your choices.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I'd say KK went from an F to a C.

Kevin-

maybe I've never minded that you write heavily about HBK, because I'm a mark for him too. I'm also a huge mark for the Hitman, that probably explains why my friends call me moody. One minute I'm HBK, another I'm the Hitman. internal strife is plaguing me, ha ha ha...

I'm smack dab in the middle of Bret's book right now, and can say that I've learned a lot about him. He hasn't mentioned HBK yet, so I've yet to have any problems with it. I appreciated your review of it earlier in the year...

When the WWE announced their Slammy nominations for Wrestler of the Year, I questioned how someone like Batista could even be on the list instead of Shawn Michaels, who indeed worked two of the most memorable feuds from the year with Ric Flair & then Chris Jericho.

I do strongly feel though that the Flair-HBK match has been rather overrated. Perhaps it might have something to do with myself not being emotionally invested in Flair's retirement so my eyes weren't clouded with tears, nolstagia or emotions when I viewed the match. What people tend to remember most from the match is HBK mouthing the words "I'm sorry" before the end. It's a nice touch but not enough for me to view it as the match of the year. HBK himself had better matches this year, particularly the ladder match with Chris Jericho. I might have to watch all the big matches from the year again to really pick just one but off the top of my head, I'd probably go for something like the Edge/Taker HITC match.

As for wrestler of the year, there are really only four credible choices: HBK, Orton, Y2J and Edge. Orton is the weakest of the lot since it was only during the last few months of the year that saw his performance turned exceptional. If he keeps it up, it's quite likely he'll be the wrestler of the year for 2009. Jericho was the highlight reel on Raw but only for the second half of the year. So that leaves Edge as the main contender to HBK. Edge was also involved in one of the more memorable feuds from the year, namely against Taker, as well as one of the more memorable moment, namely CM Punk's title win. He has also put on some fantastic matches, including the TLC and HITC matches against Taker. It's really quite tough to separate HBK and Edge from one another.

I guess the one big difference between the two of them is that HBK had better partners to work with in 2008. Both had to tangle with Batista but HBK's main feud from the year were against Flair and a rejuvenated Jericho. Edge's two main feud from the year were against the lacklustre and bland Rey Mysterio and the limited-appearances-through-tradition Undertaker. The last few promos related to the Taker feud was done entirely by Edge with just Vickie Guerrero. In contrast, both Flair & Jericho are capable of deliverying great promos themselves and I suspect that in their feuds with HBK, they spoke triple or quadruple the amount that Undertaker spoke all year around. So basically, HBK had great *dialogues* this year in his feuds while Edge had to be content with delivering great *monologues*. Edge carried Smackdown almost entirely by himself until the draft while HBK was not even in the main event spotlight till the second half of the year.

If HBK deserves to be the wrestler of the year more than Edge, I have to say that a large part of that is due to the help he received from an ever reliable Flair & the outstanding Jericho as well as the lack of help Edge received from the underperforming Mysterio and the limited-promos Undertaker.

In any case, I would say both Edge & HBK are deserving of any adulations fans might throw their way.

If Michaels-Flair isn't match of the year, then its his ladder match with Jericho that was the best.

Yo u encourage us to do this, so....
These are my....
Ring posts post's awards

Post of the year(a.k.a "The people's post"): Q&A with Scott Steiner
Remember?Sinopsis:Big Poppa Pump talking thrash about every single topstar he has work with in the WWE. Talking nonsense makes money. With 62 comments so far in his first appearence, and the astonishing 139 in his sequel, Scotty makes of these award something axiomatic to him.
The biggest bad mouth in the bussines is awarded with the best post,which is a Q&A...isn't that ironic, or am I also using wrong the term?
Note: I was between Steiner and the post about Hardy accident. But was Steiner was over at a time where 'Ring posts' wasn't so popular as it is right now. And was,also, the first ever overcommented post.

Most controversial "post Wrestler":Shawn Michaels
During the Past Year, Tons of comments have been about HBK Performance. People praising the same things that other people criticize. And people get mad at the blog owner just because he says his opinion.Sinopsis: I don't know how to descript this one. Try this: pick 2 guys, and ask them about any feud Michaels has had. They will never, EVER, agree.

Hottest feud of the year: Kevin Eck vs That guy who said Wrestling can't be in the sports section.
Remember that?I tried to find the exact name of the post who unleash the carnage here but I couldn't.Sinposis: Someone have enough time to visit a blog about a task he didn't even like, and pretending he knows something about the blog,the owner, or wrestling, he criticize Eck (who was a classic babyface at first but then turn into some sort of antihero like face, ala Steve Austin).
The result of the feud was the disappearance of the guy, who is believed to be living in a hole, next to hornswoggle, under the ring.

Less popular post of the year: I don't know. Pick any of TNA...
Ok I can find detractors because of this choice. I watch TNA regularly and nowadays those posts receive a decent response but,let's face it: The first posts didn't get over at all.
Sinposis:I mean, hey!Dixie Carter talked with Eck one time, and She said that she "read his stuff".... But she does not make any comment. Right. Not even the people in the highest positions in TNA want to talk about their own product.

(I was going to award Michaels and Eck as the tag of the year, remembering the time you said in front of Steiner -despite the possibles represals-, that you were a huge HBK fan, and even the last post you did about the awards HBK win here in the blog. But I thought it would be too much. Anyway, all this was made with a tribute like intention. Hope you don't get mad)

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Enjoyed your take on my takes.

I attended Wrestlemania this past year and there is no doubt in my mind that Michaels v Flair was Match of the year. That match will be remembered for years to come, no other match this year had that kind of impact. Everyone knew Flair was going to lose yet he and Michaels still managed to keep it suspenseful.

Wrestler of the Year while I am not a fan of Michaels should be his. Remember Raw lost both Jeff Hardy and HHH in the draft and still is the flagship show and it is because of Michaels.

Kevin , you shouldn't have to defend your choice's ( specifically Michaels ) . Hopefully those who criticize your picks ( me included ) are only doing it in good fun .

I don't have a clear-cut wrestler of the year. Maybe I'd give it to Michaels & Edge together as "Co-Wrestlers of the Year."

I think one of the reasons Chris Jericho had so many supporters is because of how amazing his feud with Michaels was. His great second half of the year made a lot of people forget how forgettable the first half was for him.

The Scott Steiner interview's been mentioned a few times. That's actually when I started reading your blog. I heard so much about the interview that I checked it out, then realized there was other stuff to read.

I definitely agree, not only with your picks, but the reasoning behind your choices and also with this statement regarding the people who call you a mark or say that you’re biased.

To be completetly honest, Shawn does deserve these awards. Looking at past accomplishments from Michaels and also his overall ability as a performer, it’s really not hard to believe that he’s the winner of these awards.

Match of the year? HBK gives 110% each & everytime he steps into that ring whether it be from a skilled nature or his passion for it, however, whatever aspect you’re concluding from, Shawn Michaels has it and he brings it as if both are equally important to him, which they are. I agree with your choice about match of the year with Flair, although Jericho/HBK Ladder Match at No Mercy runs in as a close second, and if I really sat & thought about it, that might be my Match of the Year pick, nevertheless, your choice was brilliant and understandable.

Feud of the year? LOL….Who in their right mind wouldn’t agree with HBK having the feud of the year?!?! If Michaels’ feud with Jericho wasn’t the feud of the year, then I’d really love for someone to tell me what was. If people don’t think that was the feud of the year, then they simply don’t understand the art of professional wrestling. They told a story and then capitalized on it at No Mercy with their outstanding match at No Mercy. I wouldn’t even waste my time debating with someone who thinks otherwise.

Superstar of the year? Many runner-ups for this one. hbk was a very understandable choice. If I had my choice, it would be between Jericho, Edge, or HBK. Either one of those would certainly do, and apparently your choice was HBK, which is fine in my book. He’s had the feud of the year with Jericho alongside other feuds that were very decent and well thought out. Michaels was a very consistent superstar to say the least. Not to mention, the man retired RIC FLAIR for God’s sake!!! Seriously, what more can you ask for?!?! That’s enough in itself right there.

All in all, I just think people can’t fathom one superstar winning three awards easily in that sense, especially big ones like these, but I wouldn’t worry about it. when you really think about it, HBK did deserve these awards and I’m still proud to this day to say I’m a huge fan of his and if people think I’m being a mark for this, then so be it. I’m a proud one…LOL

Real quick eck,

Since you watch so much wrestling... im wondering if you have any opinions on a category im now making up called: BEST NON-PPV MATCH OF THE YEAR.

Very rarely is there a match on tv that i get super excited about. Up until recently, i only really remember one.

It was (hushed) Chris Benoit's last match on Smackdown before he had to leave for ECW. He had a match with the just transferred Edge. And i've never seen two people beat each other up so intensely in a non-ppv match.

Of course there was the five-star, hour-long match in London between HBK and Cena post WM 23.

Recently on Raw, Jericho and Punk had one for the ages. The race to the rumble match in which Jericho hit the codebreaker off Punk's springboard. Told a great story, and had an exciting finish.

These days, most big tv matchups involve run-ins and non clean pins.

So any opinions?

Okay, first of all I don't have any problem for Shawn Michaels getting every Kevin Eck award. I respect your opinion.But the thing that I completely disagree with is the fact that people saying Jericho didn't deserved award cuz he wasn't good first in the first half of the year. Now that is pretty laughable.Agreed, Jericho didn't have a good match with JBL but then again who has? His matches against CM Punk, Jeff Hardy were probably the best tv matches of the year.His promos are the most remembered promos of the last year. Even his fued with HBK, it was Jericho who carried the most part of that fued on his own shoulders.All HBK did was come out with some stupid expression on his face week after week. And I was never impressed with Shawn's mic work after his "born again" stint. It has gone from bad to worse. Don't forget HBK's failure as well. His fued with Batista and Kennedy was boring. He wasn't even getting a good crowd reaction till his fued with Jericho happened. And most of the credit goes to Rebbeca for that. It was her who took this fued to whole another level. Probably, Kev you should have given this to Shawn as well as Rebbeca... As Helms says.."I am not saying. I'm just saying".

Why doesn't no one put Kurt Angle as wrestler of the year. I'm NOT a big fan of Angle but in 2008 Angle had more great matches than anyone else in WWE and TNA.

vs Nagata
vs Cage
vs Joe
vs Styles
vs JJ
vs Abyss
6 man tag at Victory Road.
and more

In every feud he has been he's had great matches, 2008 must have been one of Angles best years. Yet no one gives him any praise., which is sad.

Ironically (there's that word again), the combined sum of "Pro Wrestling Illustrated" Wrestler of the Year awards that have been given to HHH, Shawn Michaels, AND Bret Hart is zero! Meanwhile, Yokozuna, Big Show, and Brock Lesnar have each won one. Go figure!

Therefore, if Shawn Michaels (or HHH who had a solid year on top, and would get my vote) finally won PWI's Wrestler of the Year award this year, then I certainly won't complain.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: One correction -- Yokozuna never won PWI Wrestler of the Year. But to further validate your point, Lex Luger and Diesel have.

2008 Wrestling Awards with 3 Shawn Michaels selections is far greater than no 2008 Wrestling Awards and no Wrestling blog to disagree with.
Your blog colleagues at the Sun have you to thank. Without Ring Posts, I wouldn't have given second thought to the balance of the posts out there.
You have acknowledged that you are a huge Shawn Michaels guy, so from that standpoint, you've always been up front. If this was during the NWO years, every award from me would be for Scott Hall.

Hi Kevin - Happy New Year - I haven't posted in awhile but I've definitely been reading/enjoying your blog. Keep it up in 2009. Actually to tell you the truth - I think I've been disillusioned (stupid me) since the 12/16 match in Baltimore when I went over mid-day and Triple H totally ignored the fans there when he got out of the car. But he's definitely gone down in my book. Oh well, I definitely agree with your choice x 3 for HBK --- I've never been as invested in a match as in the HBK and Flair one. I think HBK has been phenomenal this year, especially as an "actor" - I hope he gets one more good run in before he retires eventually. You can really look at his face and see him aging (sad) --- but I can't wait until this storyline with JBL is over - I'm sure that will be sometime soon as I really can't see HBK not being/wrestling at Wrestlemania.

On another note --- (probably because I can't stand Orton) ---- I'm really hoping that Jeff Hardy doesn't deal with any personal demons and has a phenomenal 2009. I think he's got the potential. I'm going to go with him as my wrestler of the year for 2009. I also think Morrison has a lot of potential (he needs to go solo and get rid of the Miz). And I think somewhere in a year or so Evan Bourne has major potential... Anyway, just my thoughts. Take care.

P.S. What are your thoughts on Vince coming back in a few weeks?

Michaels has been the showstopper for so many years and it is absolutely fine when he has been part of what we can call the best feud of 2008........

well, hbk certainly deserved each one of them however the best match was hbk jericho ladder match in my opinion,that was really an amazing performance by both of them....

kevin,most people criticizing u about being biased are themselves biased n its really true, now may be i m biased but i have always noticed people criticing hbk are mostly either casual viewers or huge bret hart's mark