Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who had the best character gimmick in the past
year.

Previous Winners:

  1991: The Undertaker
  1992: The Undertaker
  1993: The Undertaker
  1994: Bob Backlund as the real WWF champ
  1995: Goldust
  1996: NWO
  1997: Mick Foley's multiple personalities
  1998: Lionheart Chris Jericho as a Paragon of Virtue
  1999: Hardcore Holly as The Big Shot and a Superheavyweight
  2000: Edge & Christian, for the benefit of those with flash photography

**2001**: His name is Steve Austin - WWF Champion - he does not deserve this

298 first place votes
290 second place votes
281 third place votes

100 34 20  642   Steve Austin as paranoid WWF Champion
 50 29 37  411   Hurricane as real-life superhero
 34 25 11  267   Steve Austin and Kurt Angle as Vince McMahon suckups
 13 35 23  216   Kurt Angle as "Dangerous Dork" / All-American Olympic Hero
 14 11 11  125   Christian & Edge
 10 14 11  114   Triple H as the Game
  9 12 17  114   Kaientai's dubbed promos
  5 21  8  104   Christian's inferiority complex
 10 13  7  103   Commissioner William Regal
  1 12 20   81   Shawn Stasiak as an inept fool
  3  9 13   68   Rob van Dam as That Dude
  4  6 11   60   Kanyon as Alliance MVP / Who better than Kanyon?
  3  5 12   54   Diamond Dallas Page as self-help guru, motivational speaker
  4  5  6   47   Booker T as The Book
  4  4  5   42   Chris Jericho calling Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley names
  3  4  6   39   Lance Storm, Proud Canadian
  1  5  4   28   APA
  2  2  4   24   Big Show being funny
  3  1  2   22   Commissioner Mick Foley
  1  3  4   22   Los Guapos, the World's Ugliest Prettyboys
  1  0  8   21   Perry Saturn as having taken too many blows to the head
  1  3  3   20   Los Nuevos Infernales
  2  1  2   17   BATT
  1  3  1   16   Tajiri
  1  3  1   16   Rhyno the Man Beast
  1  3  1   16   Hayabusa
  0  2  4   14   Mike Sanders as "Above Average"
  1  2  1   13   Sugar Shane Helms & Sugar Babies
  1  0  4   13   Right to Censor
  0  3  2   13   Alliance
  1  2  0   11   LAZZ
  1  1  1   10   Disciplinarian
  0  3  0    9   Rock
  0  1  3    9   Scott Steiner
  1  0  1    7   Lex Luger & Buff Bagwell as Totally Buff
  1  0  1    7   El Satanico
  1  0  1    7   Brazo de Plata
  0  1  2    7   Riot
  0  2  0    6   Paul Heyman as the "Jim Jones" of Sports Entertainment
  1  0  0    5   Team Canada
  1  0  0    5   Survival Tobita
  1  0  0    5   Simon Diamond
  1  0  0    5   Rico Costantino
  1  0  0    5   Las Cachorras Orientales
  1  0  0    5   John Zandig, professional wrestler
  1  0  0    5   ICE CREAM (AAA)
  1  0  0    5   Ebessan
  1  0  0    5   Danger
  1  0  0    5   Curry Man
  0  1  1    5   Undertaker
  0  1  1    5   Mr. McMahon, evil boss
  0  1  1    5   Kane
  0  0  2    4   Chris Benoit, the best wrestler in the world
  0  1  0    3   Tsubasa
  0  1  0    3   Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley as a Slut
  0  1  0    3   Regal
  0  1  0    3   Nick Patrick
  0  1  0    3   Michael Modest's split personality
  0  1  0    3   GOEMON
  0  1  0    3   Billy Gunn & Big Show
  0  0  1    2   noki-A
  0  0  1    2   X-Pac as a punk-ass
  0  0  1    2   Thug
  0  0  1    2   Onryo
  0  0  1    2   Messiah
  0  0  1    2   Jeff Hardy
  0  0  1    2   Glacier as Object of Norman Smiley's Devotion
  0  0  1    2   Danny Rose as "Tough Enough"

EDDIE BURKETT: It was hard to think of what *gimmicks* I enjoyed this
year.  Who Bettah Than Kanyon was a brilliant way for Kanyon to draw
attention to himself, and also worked well since he was a good wrestler.  
My vote for Christian isn't so much for his complex when he was with Edge,
but the arrogant attitude he's taken since turning on Edge.  The new
Christian, with the pyro and the theme music, has been very entertaining.  
Also, the Hurricane is a great idea, and its a shame they are more or less
burying him in comedy matches with big men.

HIRO: INDEED!

TEDB512: Shane Helms would've been such a big star...

MPWG: Indeed!!

VIKRAM BIRRING: Steve Austin manages to be hilarious, yet evil. How he
keeps the crowd against him is beyond me.

STEPHEN TISZENKEL: The promotion of the spinaroonie as the joke it is
instead of something to get legitimately excited about was a stroke of
genius and not, as some WCW marks would contend, an insult to Booker T.

DEAN RASMUSSEN: LAZZ RULES! When drag queens wrestle as faces in North
Carolina, there is hope for this nation.

CHIP BOOTS: I just love the Hurricane gimmick.  Hopefully they'll do
something with him.

GREG NECASTRO: Helms finally got a gimmick that makes me pay attention to
him.

SCOTT WORDEN: Best gimmick..  What'supwitdat?  Hurricane was.. so sue me
for liking it.  Wish the WWF realized it was getting over and decided to
push it instead of doing nothing with it other than jobbertime...  Kanyon
had a good gimmick going there, but well, we know how the WWF operates.

CHRIS BIRD: Although I didn't even vote it first place or second (Paranoid
Stone Cold and the Hurricane get those nods), I would like to remind
everybody how bizarrely funny the return of Glacier was. "Norman, relax.
You are clearly delerious with joy." "Aggggh! My leg!" "With joy, I said."

CANZ: I heard AAA had an ice cream man wrestler. Leave it to Peņa to force
everyone to fold their cards in awe of his sheer dementia.

KEVIN WONG: Christian, Edge and Kurt Angle.  Team ECK RULED!!!  Man I
sound like such a fanboy...

GREG SAKAKI: How about Tazz always jobbing in under a minute? Is that his
gimmick?

DONNY L: Austin character is the best I've seen in television, Angle's
cool as well so is Regal snob is in third

PETER HAZLETT: RVD was made into a crowd favorite even when he was part of
the heel team.  As for Rhyno, he has just not taken to the next level,
like it should have been

KEVIN DOTEN: Finally, a personality for Booker T, throw in the
Spin-a-rooni and instant success -Hurricane- Wazzupwitdat got over, no
doubt about it

JOHN C.: Austin as a paranoid character brought us laughter, a killer
instinct and great matches all rolled into one. Christian's solo heel turn
was awesome in the early stages. It was so awesome that he gets my second
vote with the Hurricane's superhero work coming in third.

SCOTT CHRIST: AHHHHHHHH AM THE CHAMPION. MY FRIEEEEEND. AND AHHHHHHHH'LL
KEEP ON FIIIIIGHTIN. TILL THE END. I'VE GOT OLYMPIC GOOOOOLD.

JOE GENTILE: What?

BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: As a lifelong comic book fan, I feel I have no choice
but to vote for the Hurricane here. Sure, the gimmick's just incredibly
stupid, but it's sooooo funny. Apparently Helms doesn't do the superhero
thing as well as Nova did but, erm, I don't care. So there. Number two is
William Regal (despite not getting nominated...), a great updated version
of, erm, Lord Steven Regal. Unlike the original though, Regal manages to
be really funny while still coming across (especially during his brief
babyface period) as being cool, as well as dangerous. Christian's solo
gimmick, that of the jealous, borderline psychotic younger brother with an
enormous inferiority complex (ie, Owen II) and really bizarre hats gets
third. Honourable mentions: Angle, RVD, Austin, Tajiri, et al.

CHRIS LENING: Austin ran his gimmick for an eternity, and only after the
eligibility period for the year had expired was it not logical. It all
made sense, even talking to his watch. Kurt Angle always seems willing to
do what it takes to further his character as well, and it was done quite
well. And then in Mexico, there were three guys who, in spite of
questionable looks, called themselves "Los Guapos", walked with the air of
some sort of Rock Idols, and came out to the Backstreet Boys. So goofily
enjoyable I loved it.

MATTY TONKIN: The Hurricane is the only new gimmick around, right ?? I
wouldnt consider 95% of personas as "gimmicks" nowdays anyway.

YNAE316: LOVED the Hurricane gimmick but I really do hope Helms get pushed
more seriously and does not become a permanent joke like the Red Rooster.  
Loved the "Positively Page" gimmick to, especially the vig with Jennifer.

JEREMY SORIA: Perry Saturn just became adorable. The fact he dumped Terri
for Moppy made him all the more adorable.

SHANE SPEAR: The Hurricane is just plain fun.  I don't know which was my
favorite:  The attempted chokeslam on the Big Show, the wonder twin
reference with Lance Storm, Citizn Kane?  Shane Helms really made a
believer out of me with his gimmick despite the lack of wrestling to back
it up.  Kurt Angle deserves the second spot for being as patriotic as he
could be BEFORE the events of 9-11.  He was wearing the flag and
proclaiming America as the greatest before all that was cool once more.  
Then when it swelled, Angle just looked that much cooler because he DID
stand for the red, while, and blue.  Paranoid Stone Cold was also
entertaining, and the peak of that had to be that look back in May or
something when he looked all spaced out while giving McMahon a hug.

BEE MONTEVERDE: If only Christian, Champion of Europe, caught on more.
It's so fun to say!

RYAN FAULCONER: Ebessan may not only be the best gimmick of 2001 but also
the best of all time!

WILL SCHLICKENMAIER: By "Chris Benoit, the best wrestler in the world," I
mean the gimmick he started running with on RAW 20 November 2000 when he
wrestled Steve Austin, and continued through his feud with Angle, etc.

JUSTIN SHAPIRO: Uh, these aren't gimmicks, they're just people.

SHAWN MULLIN: Steve Austin's paranoid champion was a beautifully evolved
character.  It started with a man who lost himself in anger during his
path of vengence, built to a man who lost faith in his ability to win
after his neck injury and his match with HHH, and ended up with a man
willing to ally with his most hated rival AND turn against the company
that made him a superstar.  It's the most fleshed out heel turn in a long
long time.  Too bad the company didn't actually display that in the first
stages of the turn.  Regal worked really well in the commish role.