After Monday’s comments, and my notes from previous years, here’s the plan:
For the next five days, I’m going to have a discussion post for a couple (or a three) awards. The idea is for everyone to talk about people who are worth consideration for votes, with hopefully a little a bit why. They’re not strictly nomination posts; I’m really hoping for more than just names, and everyone will still be allowed to vote for whoever they’d like.
The idea is to discuss the candidates. A list of names isn’t as interesting as a discussion of a list names, and I’d rather it be interesting if I’m going to deal with it. Since I want it to be a discussion, and not just a reaction to my comments, I’m going to keep my picks out of these posts but may eventually chime in on the comments.
Voting – WHICH IS NOT OPEN YET – will be from Feb 22 to March 8.
Today’s categories are Best Rudo and Best Mini.
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Best Rudo- Averno. Eventhough Ultimo Guerrero has a good year, I think Averno had a better year. In 2009 Averno not only was the leader of top rudo group in 2009 Los Hijos del Averno, but established himself as the top evildoer of the year.
Best Mini- Mascarita Dorada. In 2008 Mascarita Dorada established himself as one of the top mini’s in CMLL, possibly the best. In 2009 he became THE MINI. Now-a-days when you think of the minis division, you think Mascarita Dorada. His in ring consistency, make him the 2009 Mini of the year.
Best Mini…
Mascarita Dorada – The most spectacular mini in the world right now. Had many impressive singles showings this year vs Pequeno Warrior, Pequeno Damian and Pierrothito. Crowd treats him as a star which can only be said for a few mini’s in the history of the division, especially in CMLL. Can always be counted on to give 110%.
Pierrothito – Won two important mask matches and is the glue of any mini’s match when Pequeno Damian isn’t around. Can work with anyone and has the ability to carry even the weakest tecnico to a good exchange/match (see: Electrico).
Pequeno Black Warrior – Really stepped it up this year and established himself as a main player in the mini’s division. An argument could be made that out of all the guys who left AAA post-Pena’s death, he has fit in the best in CMLL. Had such a good year that I think 2010 will see him get rewarded with a mask win or at least a big feud for a title.
Can’t see myself voting for any AAA mini’s since they tend to disappear for months at a time and when they do show up on TV their matches are clipped and not even 1/4th as good as the CMLL guys.
It pains me to not be able to even nominate Tzuki.:(
Just for the sake of getting some debate going, why not Negro Casas for rudo of the year? He had a lot of big wins and decent matches leading up to the big match with Mistico at Aniversario.
Although he gets the reaction of a babyface, Dr. Wagner Jr. is booked as a rudo in AAA, and he had a pretty big year. If Mesias/Wagner from AAAmania is a MOTY candidate, I would think that would make them both rudo/tecnico candidates, since the main events of AAA are booked around their feud.
Best Mini is between Mascarita Dorada and Bam Bam. Dorada is better but Bam Bam kinda reminds me of Virus or Mini Abismo, he doesn’t belong in the Mini’s. I also like Shockercito a lot too.
Best Rudo: I”m leaning towards Konnan. It’s hard to pick a rudo from CMLL cause it seems like they are treated as tecnicos. Can a luchadora be best rudo as I think Sexy star did a good job in that department. Especially when she didn’t drop her mask.
I have to agree that all of the mini nominations so far are worthy of consideration. I would add Damian to the list as well. His 2009 wasn’t as good as his 2008, but he still worked some damn good matches, including his lightning match with Dorada and his singles matches with Bam Bam. Unfortunately, the multimini cage matches were reserved for those with masks, so he didn’t get to show his stuff when the minis got the main event spotlight or even in the build up to those matches. Damian would seem to be a good fit for throwing the smaller tecnicos around a cage.
As for the rudos, while I am a fan of Averno, I don’t think I would necessarily put him in my top three this year. I’m not even sure I think he had the best year of any of the Hijos del Averno (Texano Jr. had a hell of a year). For me, any conversation on the top rudos of 2009 has to include Negro Casas. He was part of the incredibly over Peste Negra and his feud with Mistico defined the year for CMLL. He was involved in several match of the year candidates and main evented CMLL’s biggest show of the year.
I also think Sangre Azteca is worthy of consideration, though I expect bigger things from him in a year or two. He managed to take a trio that noone expected to last more than a couple of weeks and make them gel into a cohesive unit. Keeping Black Warrior interested and somewhat focused for most of the year and helping bring along the raw Dragon Rojo has to be worth something right?
And my final suggestion (and least popular) for rudo of the year is Alex Koslov. AAA waited a month too long to turn him, but I thought his performance as a rudo in AAA was inspired. I never would have seen it coming in Arena Mexico. The crowd loves to hate him and he plays off it quite well. And, who has more “rudo heat” on the luchablog than Koslov. OK, Konnan, but that’s another story.
Since Rob left Tzuki off his list, I won’t mention Perro here either.
@Tim: I actually kind of like the Sexi Star suggestion. For quite a while, that feud was the most interesting storyline in AAA this year.
Sexi Star and Texano are two good nominations…
Shockercito should be nominated as Mini of the Year after his mask loss and his hair wins against Fire and Damian. Being part of three decisions in Apuestas matches in Arena Mexico in one year is much more than anyone can expect.
Rudo of the year feels like an easy win for Negro Casas. I’m not sure if the other Peste Negra members fit but he definitely does.
It’s weird – the two guys who were pushed as the biggest two in-ring rudos of the year were probably Ultimo Guerrero and Dr. Wagner Jr. Except, one guy had his biggest wins over rudos, and the other guy was cheered most of the time.
Luchadoras and minis are definitely eligible for all awards. Pierrothito might be worth consideration for the last two spots. I can see Sexi Star as a personality, but she was so helped by everyone else to carry the in-ring. I think, if you’ve got a criteria that puts Sexi Star in your top 3, then Konnan definitely has to be 1, because he was even more over via personality despite needing more people to help him out.
Minis: Though I certainly wouldn’t make a case for him being #1, I think Mini Black Abismo deserves some consideration for #2 or #3. His division was very marginalized this year, but he was still very clearly the best guy in it for the time he had. I know the time wasn’t a lot, but I’d rather vote for a big fish in a smaller pond then a medium sized fish in a bigger pond.
(and he’s a clear most underutilized, but that’s later.)
Best Mini
this is a tough one for me but i choose mascarita dorada. the guy has done some amazing spots this past year and he has also had great matches. one of the best if not the best throughout the world. seconded by mini damian and mini abismo.
best rudo
AVERNO ALL THE WAY! not just is he the leader of the top group in cmll he has to be one of the best worker through out mexico. had great matches with a number of guys in cmll and has a very bright future ahead of him.
my second pick would be texano and third negro casas.
Averno is the worst rudo to come down the pike in years and Casas’ schtick was awful last year. Surely, quality has to be a factor not simply who headlined CMLL.
@ohtani’s jacket: Who would your picks be then?
I’d have to agree about Casas in 2009 having a great year as a rudo. Not only in the feud with Mistico, but he really did great helping some of the younger CMLL tecnicos late in the year as well.
The problem with anyone else in CMLL in 2009 on the rudo side was most were all tweeners. Actually, let me re-phrase that, too many rudos nowadays are tweeners everywhere.
Look at the big wins or feuds for anyone other than Casas. As cubs said, Ultimo’s big win was against another rudo. El Terrible & Texano Jr.’s big win was against Naito & Yujiro. To me Averno is a great #2 rudo, but doesn’t really come across as a #1 rudo type, especially in 2009.
With AAA, hate him all you want, but Konnan was hands down the best rudo personality-wise there. I couldn’t even figure out if Wagner was a tecnico or rudo half the time the way AAA booked him. I also have to agree about Sexi Star.
I think I’m gonna have to throw in a vote for Policeman from Puebla. I thought he was great in that feud with Centella de Oro.
Pierrothito was great as a rudo in ’09.
IWRG its either Veneno or Los Oficiales. Oficiales stealing a win against Yack and then they teamed up with Veneno to poison Angelico.
@Ringo: I forgot about Shockercito because he disappeared for the second half of the year but that’s a good nomination. I’ll definitely consider him.
I haven’t thought about best rudo that much but I completely disagree with anyone mentioning Konnan. The guy is (was?) a booker. He put himself in the top storylines and always against whoever the top tecnico was. It’s not hard to get heat when you do that. Show me an example of one wrestler Konnan feuded with who wasn’t over and got over b/c of Konnan being a great rudo. You can’t. No such example exists. In fact I’d go as far to say that anyone who can cut a promo could have done Konnan’s job and gotten the same amount of heat. Gran Apache, Halloween, Damian, Decnis… all great talkers. They would have been more over b/c at least they can all take bumps. Imagine where Decnis would be right now if he came out and took Pena’s ashes. Or if he attacked Cibernetico with help from the Foreign Legion. Konnan just takes and takes. He latches onto the heat of the top tecnico and for some reason people consider him a great rudo. But my definition of a rudo is someone who in the end gets his butt kicked by the tecnico and elevates them by putting them over and looking weak in the process. Konnan doesn’t do that. He never GIVES. Konnan would win the award if we had a sidekick/manager of the year b/c that’s all he is.
@Rob: Okay, I re-read that and instead of saying “looking weak in the process” I should have said a good rudo always looks lesser than his tecnico counterpart by the time their feud is over. A rudo should stay strong for future feuds but when a feud ends the crowd should always be able to say “(insert tecnico) was better and finally gave (insert rudo) what was coming to him”. Konnan’s act as a rudo is very much like Kevin Nash. Konnan just takes and takes by dominating the angle from start to finish and when it comes time for the blowoff he either accidentally loses or isn’t even involved in the finish at all. Take this year’s Triplemania for example. It was all about Konnan being a dick and leading the Foreign Legion against AAA. But in the end all Konnan did was get punched by Roldan during the match. After embarassing AAA for the entire year… HE GOT PUNCHED. He didn’t lose the match. Silver King lost the match. He didn’t suffer any embarassment b/c he was back on TV the next week still cocky as ever and seemingly still hell bent on making the Legion stronger to take over AAA again. So who benefitted from this supposed great rudo?
@Rob: The answer to who benefited from last year’s Triplemania main event and Konnan’s “loss” should have been Zorro, but that was of course forgotten.
That’s a lot to write about konnan. I think you proved our point for us.:)
@Alan: Exactly. Forgotten in favor of what? Is Zorro feuding with top tecnico Cibernetico? No. Konnan is. Will the feud end in Konnan getting pinned or looking like a fool? No. The Legion will take the bumps, get pinned and be embarassed. Konnan will move on to feud with Wagner or Mesias or whoever the next top tecnico is.
Konnan is a cripple. It’s a fact. He can barely walk. He definitely can’t take a bump. He cannot have a good match no matter how many times he tells Dave or Bryan that he can with the right opponent. If he cared at all about the promotion he would team up with Zorro and just be Zorro’s mouthpiece + annoying second. Always talking but always in the background. Instead we have skits like this week on TV where Zorro is just a henchman so Konnan can destroy Cibernetico. Why? Cibernetico vs the cripple serves no purpose to anyone. Konnan ain’t losing and Cibernetico gains nothing from beating up the entire Legion… again.
See I can’t vote a guy like Negro Casas best rudo when he gets bigger pops than almost all the tecnicos except Mistico and maybe Volador Jr. I mean watch any of those Cadena Tres shows when Negro is there and he gets the biggest pops while the tecnicos get booed. I guess you can say the fans in Arena Mexico are a little biased though.
The reason I mentioned Konnan is because I really couldn’t think of any other good rudos. I already talked about Casas and I really don’t like Averno unless he’s wrestling Panther or Mistico. He’s got the Ultimo Guerrero syndrome sometimes.
I agree that a lot of the “rudos” aren’t out there trying to get heat, but that is one of the differences between Mexico and the US as far as the heel/face dynamic goes.
There are rudo fans, and there are tecnico fans. Rudos do not go out there to get everyone to hate them like a heel in the US would – they are there to antagonize the tecnicos to the delight of the rudo fans. For lack of a better example, it is kinda like if you hate a guy like Terrell Owens. When his team comes to your town you boo him every time he has a ball thrown his way. However, he signs with your team the next year, and you suddenly love the cocky swagger he gives your team.
Because of that dynamic, Casas did his job great this year.
@Tim: Nikita is right. You can’t blame Casas for rudo fans (myself included at both 2Leyendas and Anniversary) cheering him.
@Alan:
The only rudos worth nominating from CMLL are the Puebla local rudos and the mini rudos. My vote goes to Policeman. The rest of CMLL’s rudos do nothing to show they are rudos. What does Averno actually do? He wears a scary looking mask, is on the rudo side and wrestles as a base for technicos — that’s your rudo of the year? People might as well vote for Ultimo Guerrero if that’s what a great rudo is all about these days.
Los Officiales were poor this year, but individually 911 and maybe Fierro are worthwhile nominations.
@ohtani’s jacket: … in your opinion.
I don’t necessarily disagree with what you wrote but think about what you’re preaching here. Policeman. Los Oficiales. What do those guys have in common when you watch Puebla TV or IWRG handhelds? You may notice the fact the crowd doesn’t even show up until Policeman’s match is over and the Oficiales are working in front of less people than are registered over on the IWRG forum Phil started.
Are Policeman and 2/3rd of Los Oficiales better rudos than Averno and Ultimo Guerrero? Quite possibly. But you’re being really unfair by implying what Ultimo Guerrero does is not what a true rudo should do. Ultimo Guerrero gets thousands upon thousands of people to come see him be the rudo to Mistico’s tecnico, Sombra’s tecnico, Volador’s tecnico, etc. Is there any chance what you define as a rudo is NOT what a rudo is these days to people in Mexico? I would wager yes. If you say no then I’d have to call you arrogant for thinking you + 20 other folks over on the IWRG board think you have Lucha Libre figured out over the thousands upon thousands of folks that (pay to) attend Lucha Libre shows weekly to see rudos like Averno, Ultimo Guerrero, Mephisto, Negro Casas. You guys are the minority. Heck, *I’m* the minority too b/c I don’t disagree that the Oficiales are better rudos than everyone mentioned above except Negro Casas.
What is this? The last resort of someone who can’t explain why Averno is a good rudo? Because he draws people to see technicos? Since when did these arguments wash with stuff you don’t like, such as, I dunno… WWE? CMLL has better rudos because they draw more? It’s not my fault that CMLL is ass backwards and has been a crap promotion for the past 13 years.