Best Of 1991: by Matthew Evans (25/10/02)
Last month, I enjoyed doing my "Best of 2002" column so much, that I've decided to do a similar thing with previous years. This time, I will include WCW and ECW in these awards (as they were in existence for these years), although the catergories may vary between the different years. We start with 1991, as this is the year I became interested in wrestling. Please remeber, that I didn't see absoloutley EVERYTHING from 1991-1999, I'm only going by what I saw on video.
Wrestler Of The Year: Hulk Hogan
1991 was a memorable year for The Hulkster. He won the Royal Rumble in January, beat Sgt Slaughter for the WWF belt at Wrestlemania 7 (I agree that the Gulf War storyline was tasteless, but more on that later), and torwards the end of the year he began feuding with Ric Flair and dropped the belt to (and regained it from) The Undertaker.
Babyface Of The Year: Hulk Hogan
No-one knows how to work a crowd like Hogan, and 1991 was no exception. Fans couldn't believe their eyes when they saw The Undertaker take Hogan's WWF title from him at Survivor Series. But they knew he would get it back and blew another arena roof off when he did.
Heel Of The Year: Jake "The Snake" Roberts
In 1991, Roberts was "blinded" Rick Martel's arrogance spray and truly had the fans on his side. But he tricked The Ultimate Warrior into a trap, ruined Randy Savage's and Elizabeth's wedding and let his cobra loose on Savage in a dangerous and memorable angle on WWF tv. Always a great character, Jake was at his most despicable in 1991.
Gimmick Of The Year: The Undertaker
As Mean Mark Callous in WCW (part of The Skyscrapers tag-team), big things didn't seem to be on the cards for Mark Callaway. But when the WWE got hold of him, they turned him into one of the most compelling characters in wrestling history. Billed as The Undertaker, Callaway debued at the 1990 Survivor Series, but 1991 was a year of greater impact.
He had a decent showing in the Royal Rumble (where he was managed by Brother Love- Paul Bearer became his manager soon after), he destroyed Jimmy Snuka at Wrestlemania 7, he locked The Ultimate Warrior in an "air-tight" coffin, he aided Jake Roberts in destroying Randy and Liz's wedding, and he beat Hulk Hogan for the WWF title (only to lose it 2 week's later). His Survivor Series showdown with Hogan was a dull encounter, but it didn't really matter. The Undertaker more about the character more than anything else.
Tag-Team Of The Year: The Rockers
This exciting high-flying duo were the most entertaining duo of 1991 IMO. They had fine matches at Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania and also had a good showing at Survivor Series (despite this, they never had an official tag-title reign). Speaking of Survivor Series, this was the show where the seeds were planted for a huge split between Shawn Michaels and Marty Janetty. Michaels (the better performer of the two) left Janetty high and dry in the match after Janetty accidantally knocked Shawn in the mouth. The team officially split in January 92', and Janetty's career fell apart soon after.
Feud Of The Year: Randy Savage VS Jake Roberts
Shocking and compelling, this was the hottest feud of 1991. Randy was "retired" after his loss to The Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 7, but was "re-instated" after The Snake made his life a living hell. Savage got revenge at This Tuesday In Texas, but it was the build-up rather than the pay-off that was most interesting.
Angle Of The Year: Savage Snake Attack!
(November 1991)
The Savage/Roberts feud got WAY over with the fans when Jake actually let his snake loose on Savage on WWF tv! Fans gasped in horror as the snake (which was not poisonous) chomped on Savage's arm, making him draw blood. This shocking (and dangerous) angle was the perfect way to set up a revenge match between Savage and "The Snake" at Tuesday In Texas.
Most Offensive Storyline Of The Year: Hogan/Slaughter Gulf War Feud
The WWF went WAY over the line with this storyline in 1991 (it began in 1990). Fans were disgusted with Slaughter's pro-Iraqui speeches and his burning of the American flag when they knew very well that people were risking (and losing) their lives fighting in the Gulf War. This storyline was so dangerous that the venue of Wrestlemania 7 had to be changed (in case of attacks) and Slaughter and General Adnan had to wear bullet-proof vests in public. The war ended before WM 7, but the WWE shamelessly acted like it hadn't so they could keep the storyline going.
Card Of The Year: Summerslam
A fine card of action, with the highligts including Bret Hart's IC title win over Mr Perfect and "The Snake"s" gate-crashing of the first ever wrestling wedding.
Worst Card Of The Year: Wrestlemania 7
A truly awful show, loaded with meaningless and short matches. The highlight of the show was The Ultimate Warrior's compelling Retirement Match with Randy Savage.
Promotion Of The Year: WWF/WWE
I haven't seen much WCW from 1991, but I've seen enough to know that the WWE knocked the proverbial trousers off it in that year. WWE was by far the greatest show in town.
Coming Soon: The year Undertaker turned face, Hulk Hogan took a break, and Bret Hart became Vince's no 1 guy. Yes, we're talking 1992, one of the greatest years in wrestling history.