Award Description:

To be given to the best angle you've seen in the sport this year.

Previous Winners:

  1990: Horsemen turn heel
  1991: "Real World Champion" Ric Flair challenges Hulk Hogan
  1992: Ric Flair "knew Elizabeth first"
  1993: WWF brings in Sean Waltman as 1-2-3 Kid
  1994: Shane Douglas forfeits NWA title moments after winning it
  1995: Barry Horowitz finally wins on WWF television
  1996: NWO forms and attempts takeover of WCW
  1997: Bret Hart turns on USA, reforms Hart Foundation
  1998: Mr. McMahon offers Steve Austin the easy way - or the hard way
  1999: "Countdown to the Millennium" ends with Chris Jericho's WWF debut
  2000: Triple H, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, Kurt Angle love triangle

**2001**: ECW joins WCW, forms alliance

272 first place votes
267 second place votes
257 third place votes

 54 24 20  382   ECW joins WCW, forms alliance
 35 29 27  312   Vince almost buys WCW, but Shane steals it out from under 
                 his nose
 32 23 22  273   Steve Austin, Kurt Angle fight over Vince McMahon's affection
 27 32 13  257   Chris Jericho, Rock just don't like each other
 30 14  9  210   Steve Austin sells his soul for the WWF Championship
 16 12 14  144   Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit team
  9 21 16  140   Through carrying his trophy, Christian turns on Edge
  9 11 12  102   Kurt Angle's Milkamania runs wild on the Alliance
  1 22 15  101   Edge "shoots" on Billy Gunn, X-Pac
  9  7  6   78   Chris Jericho "can't win the big one"
 10  7  3   77   Triple H joins Steve Austin, Two Man Power Trip formed
  7  3  8   60   Chris Jericho, Stephanie McMahon endure Love/Hate relationship
  1  8 15   59   Rob van Dam just too cool to take sides
  2  5  7   39   Chris Jericho plays Vince's "Stand Back" video from the 80s
  2  4  7   36   Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle argue submissions
  2  5  3   31   Chris Benoit is injured in TLC III but comes back to win
  3  3  3   30   Triple H revealed as mastermind behind Rikishi
  3  2  4   29   Yuji Nagata, comeback king of the G1 Climax
  2  3  5   29   Shawn Stasiak's stupidity
  2  2  4   24   Having taken too many head blows, Perry Saturn falls for mop
  1  1  7   22   Triple H stiffs Austin on contract
  0  4  4   20   Steve Austin defects to the Alliance
  0  2  7   20   Molly Holly, Spike Dudley fall in love
  1  1  1   10   Eddie Guerrero starts hanging out with Hardy Boyz, hitting 
                 on Lita
  0  2  2   10   Booker T attacks Steve Austin
  0  0  5   10   Alliance members seek out Rob van Dam for advice in Steve 
                 Austin's absense
  0  3  0    9   Magnum Tokyo loses his hair in a match
  1  1  0    8   Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Bucanero split with Satanico
  1  1  0    8   Taro's retirement
  1  0  1    7   Tetsuhiro Kuroda attacks injured Hayabusa, becomes star of 
                 promotion
  0  1  2    7   Steve Austin throws Kurt Angle's medals into river
  0  2  0    6   Tenryu and WAR declare war on AJPW
  1  0  0    5   Vince McMahon has fans decide which WCW wrestlers he should 
                 hire on final Nitro
  1  0  0    5   Triple H vs Angle
  1  0  0    5   The Old Steve Austin returns
  1  0  0    5   Steve Austin/Triple H can't touch each other leading into 
                 No Way Out
  1  0  0    5   Old AJW vs. New AJW
  1  0  0    5   Kumiko Maekawa screwing Watanabe, AJW, joining Mita & 
                 Shimoda's group
  1  0  0    5   Kamala asks William Regal to rub the moon on his belly
  1  0  0    5   Jeff Hardy going over Triple H
  1  0  0    5   Hurricane seeks out evil-doers; wins European title
  1  0  0    5   Danger costs Riot her title shot
  0  1  1    5   Naoya Ogawa shows up at the first ZERO-ONE show
  0  0  2    4   Shane McMahon defends his mother's honor
  0  1  0    3   Triple H, Steve Austin can't touch each other until No Way Out
  0  1  0    3   Tomoko Watanabe interferes to beat on Maekawa in 11/23/00 
                 match to help Ito/Nakanishi/Takahashi
  0  1  0    3   Steve Austin vs Rock
  0  1  0    3   Silver King becomes Black Tiger, the Japanese superstar
  0  1  0    3   Rock returns - who's side is he on?
  0  1  0    3   Mr. Gannosuke joins Team Kuroda
  0  1  0    3   Money Mark takes over NWA Wildside
  0  1  0    3   Lance Storm's anthem keeps being interrupted
  0  1  0    3   Kanyon becomes Invasion MVP
  0  1  0    3   Ice Cold loses her hair in a match
  0  0  1    2   Team Xtreme tease breakup
  0  0  1    2   Stoker Ichikawa gets his first win
  0  0  1    2   Shoichi Arai becomes Shuehi Yoshida's servant
  0  0  1    2   Ric Flair forms Magnificent Seven
  0  0  1    2   Kurt Angle dreams of repeating as King of the Ring
  0  0  1    2   Inoki and co. invade NJPW
  0  0  1    2   Hokuto/Satomura angles leading to their 4/29 match.
  0  0  1    2   Drew Carey at the Royal Rumble
  0  0  1    2   Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit
  0  0  1    2   Chris Jericho finally, and methodically turning heel

REJECTED

  1  1  1        Ric Flair revealed as 50% owner of WWF (ineligible time)
  0  0  1        "Tie" votes


RYAN HALL: Austin and Angle were priceless together.  ECW reforming was a
memorable night of TV.

HIRO: The WWF got it right when they opened the WWF vs WCW feud with Shane
stealing WCW from Vince, but then it went downhill from there. If only
they kept the momentum from there, they could've sparked another wrestling
revolution.

KHENYIAN CHEUNG: Chris Benoit makes TLC III a hell of a lot more
interesting as he is Jesus to win the match.  First he dies (goes through
table), gets crucified and buried (stretchered off), then comes back to
life (reenters match), returns to the Father (conchairto to the ribs), and
has his disciples spread his words to all the nations in order to make
Christianity the biggest religion in the world (claims the titles when no
one's left, further elevating Benoit).  Ok, maybe I'm looking into it too
much, but you got to admit there's some sort of connection.

CHIP BOOTS: Stasiak just cracks me up.

SCOTT WORDEN: Bets thing this year was Rock and Jericho..  Just some good
stuff.  late in the year, so I think that will get the #1 nod from most,
like it did it from me.

NATRBOY72: 1) Kurt's Milkamania had me laughing so hard I literally fell
out of my chair, funniest angle since BWO as KISS, 2) Chris Benoit coming
back "injured" and winning TLC III put him on the verge on getting over as
a top star before the rug was pulled 3) Shane stealing WCW from Vince was
well booked and executed.

CANZ: Bucanero and Guerrero splitting with Satanico to form a revolution
in EMLL provided the best run the promotion has had in 4 years.

DONNY L: Angle/Austin kissing Vince's ass (not literally uck) was some
funniest thing I've seen. Jerihco/Rock was short during the voting period
but the little it was it was good. Jericho/Steph seems to always have some
good stuff as well.

PETER HAZLETT: You know, the WCW thing had a good start, too bad they
could not follow up

JOHN C.: Seeing Austin & Angle sing to Vince McMahon in order to be his
"favourite" was the funniest thing I've ever seen in wrestling. Sure, it
made their heel characters seem weaker but it was entertainment at its
finest. When ECW reunited on Raw in Atlanta it was a big markout moment
and seeing Shane on Nitro was also pretty damn huge.

JOE GENTILE: Let's face it, regardless of how it turned out, the START of
the Alliance angle was phenominal. I marked out BIG TIME for the Kurt
Angle milk truck incident, it was just so well executed. The Alliance
asking RVD for advide didn't go anywhere, but was very amusing while it
lasted.

BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: First, the return of ECW. It may have totally fallen
completely flat in the long run, but it was still the year's definitive
"Holy Shit" moment. It was also doubly great for being so unexpected. The
amazing angles leading up to Jericho vs. Rock get second, and should
probably win. Awesome, awesome feud, as I've said. Christian's heel turn
gets third. It didn't entirely pan out, true, but it was still one of the
best heel turns of recent times.

MATTY TONKIN: Austin as champion & paraniod leader of the Alliance,
interogating the Alliance members in the ring & singling them out for
praise or ridicule was pure gold. The funniest segments of the year. And
when ECW came through the crowd it was a turning point for the InVasion
angle. That was for around half an hour, until they joined up with WCW &
the whole angle returned to its mediocrity & never recovered.

ROB EVANS: Though they may have botched the whole invasion angle, you have
to admit the coolest moment of the year was that split instant that you
recognized that the wrestlers in the ring were ECW, only to have Paul
Heyman confirm it seconds later. "Feel this moment for the rest of your
life." Classic!

RYAN FAULCONER: Vince McMahon firing WCW wrestlers on national television
was perversely entertaining. I'm not sure if qualifies as an angle though
since some of it was apparently a shoot. Naoya Ogawa showed exactly how to
do a post-match angle at the first ZERO-ONE show so his party crasher
antics take second.