Best Technical Wrestler                 

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestler who has the most technical ability. The number
of holds and moves you see this person do and the crispness with which the
moves are executed makes his/her matches a pleasure to watch. In 1994, this
award was split into three: North American, Non-North American, and overall.
In 1998, it was recombined into one.

Previous Winners:

  1991: Bret Hart
  1992: Bret Hart
  1993: Bret Hart
  1994: (overall/NA) Bret Hart
  1994: (non-NA)     Chris Benoit
  1995: (overall/NA) Dean Malenko
  1995: (non-NA)     Chris Benoit
  1996: (sweep)      Dean Malenko
  1997: (overall/NA) Dean Malenko
  1997: (non-NA)     Jushin Liger
  1998: Dean Malenko
  1999: Chris Benoit

**2000**: Chris Benoit

570 first place votes
554 second place votes
544 third place votes

431  73  22 2417   Chris Benoit
 42 119 103  773   Dean Malenko
 13  92  87  515   Lance Storm
 15  52  75  381   William Regal
 13  36  51  275   Kurt Angle
  7  42  39  239   Triple H
  2  35  27  169   Chris Jericho
  3  20  34  143   Eddie Guerrero
  5  19  18  118   Yoshihiro Tajiri
  5   8  18   85   Jerry Lynn
  8   5   5   65   Minoru Tanaka
  4   3   5   39   Bret Hart
  1   6   7   37   Jeff Jarrett
  0   6   5   28   Guido Maritato
  4   1   1   25   Mariko Yoshida
  1   3   3   20   Jun Akiyama
  1   3   3   20   Daisuke Ikeda
  1   4   1   19   Perry Saturn
  1   2   3   17   Yuki Ishikawa
  1   2   3   17   Norman Smiley
  0   4   1   14   Shinjiro Ohtani
  0   2   4   14   Yumi Fukawa
  0   2   3   12   Steve Austin
  2   0   0   10   Yuji Nagata
  0   2   2   10   Tazz
  1   0   2    9   Dick Togo
  1   1   0    8   Toshiaki Kawada
  0   2   0    6   Rob Van Dam
  1   0   0    5   Trent Acid
  1   0   0    5   Simon Diamond
  1   0   0    5   Kenta Kobashi
  1   0   0    5   Hiromi Yagi
  1   0   0    5   El Hijo del Santo
  1   0   0    5   Chris Kanyon
  1   0   0    5   Booker T.
  1   0   0    5   Al Snow
  0   1   1    5   Tiger Mask IV
  0   1   1    5   Steve Corino
  0   1   1    5   Matt Hardy
  0   0   2    4   Ric Flair
  0   1   0    3   Villano III
  0   1   0    3   Super Crazy
  0   1   0    3   Shawn Michaels
  0   1   0    3   Scott Steiner
  0   1   0    3   Prodigette
  0   1   0    3   El Samurai
  0   1   0    3   Alexander Otsuka
  0   0   1    2   X-Pac
  0   0   1    2   Val Venis
  0   0   1    2   Taka Michinoku
  0   0   1    2   Super Benoit
  0   0   1    2   Steve Blackman
  0   0   1    2   Scotty 2 Hotty
  0   0   1    2   Naoki Sano
  0   0   1    2   Michael Modest
  0   0   1    2   Kendo Azteca
  0   0   1    2   Katsumi Usuda
  0   0   1    2   Johnny Smith
  0   0   1    2   Jeff Hardy
  0   0   1    2   Harcore Holly
  0   0   1    2   Crash
  0   0   1    2   Christopher Daniels
  0   0   1    2   Christian
  0   0   1    2   CW Anderson

HIRO: Like I said in category 1, Benoit brought his bag of tricks when he
came to the WWF. So did Dean, too bad he gets less exposure in the WWF
even though he is still the reigning LHW Champion (the longest reign this
year in fact). Seeing Steven Regal back in the ring makes me really happy
too.

J3R CR0WE: Chris Benoit IS the best, and nobody has proven him wrong. God
I love that line!

ROBERT STRUPP: Benoit is pretty self explanatory. Eddy is really crisp in
the ring, and his moves are almost always timed right, and executed
without killing himself or his opponent. His elbow injury was really just
a fluke. Triple H proved he could hold his own against Benoit, Eddy, TAKA
and Jericho.

ALEX GIPSON: Chris Benoit has made me a fan of the technical style this
year, even though some might argue that he hasn't had the best opportunity
to showcase his talents to their fullest on the WWF stage because of
matches against the Rock and such. What little I've seen of both Malenko
and Regal has been eye-opening, as well.

CHRIS OSTER: Benoit, Malenko and Jericho...and to think ALL of them were
under WCW contract eighteen months ago.  Way to hold onto that talent,
guys.

EDC: Chris Benoit 2000 = Bret Hart 1995

SCOTT W.: Dean Malenko always gets the vote.  I wish the fans could
appreciate what he does.  Man, the guy is just awesome.  Benoit is a close
second and in a close third, Eddie.  Hmm, 3 Radicalz.

MARCUS SPARKS: Benoit would have been Wrestler of the Year if he was a bit
stronger on interviews.  William Regal is a more sound technical wrestler
than Storm, hence the flip-flop from above.

JOHN C.: Benoit leads the way here once again. Nobody comes close to the
crispness of his moves or the ability to apply those moves on men of all
sizes.  Malenko gets the second spot here because he is still a technical
wrestling king despite the fact that he was not utilized very well by the
WWF. Lance Storm rounds out the top three due to his excellent work in WCW
where he has been trying to get technical wrestling over with a crowd that
would rather see a table.

ANDY P. GOSS: Dean Malenko's entire persona is that he's a calculated
technician.  The guy's so good at it, he can draw heat for it on his own.  
Guido Maritato needs to lose Sal E., or at least have Big Sal be inactive
for one match, in order to help show how good he *really* is to most fans.  
And, well, I think I'd lose my Rant Crew license if I didn't vote for
Benoit.

STEPHEN TISZENKEL: I feel guilty for doing this, but Kurt Angle takes
second on one match alone -- that Raw title match against Steve Austin.
This guy's an Olympic gold medalist, for God's sake. Why can't he use his
skills more often instead of punching and kicking so much?

JON WALTON: Dean Malenko mine as well have this category named for him,
his in ring generalship is unparallelled.

JONAH ROSCH: I have to say that Lance Storm has really polished his
technical wrestling ability in the last year. I think Chris Benoit is
excellent, but so much of his game these days are his chops and his flying
headbutt. I think we have seen a more rounded technical aspect to Lance
Storm's wrestling this past year, than Chris Benoit.

JAMES HOWARD: Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and Steven Regal. Book them in a
six-man tag against three broomsticks, and it'd be the neatest thing you'd
ever see. :)

GEORGE JOHNSON: I wish Benoit didn't have to limit his arsenal in the name
of protecting other wrestlers' moves.

JEREMY SORIA: See Best Worker category. No one works harder in wrestling
than Benoit, Jericho, and Angle.

NATHAN LONEY: Chris Benoit is the best technical wrestler in the WWF
today.  He says it, he means it, and whenever he gets a chance to shine in
the ring, he shows it.  I'd like to think that extends to the world.  
(Steven) William Regal gets in the ring, and he's the fucking MAN.  Great
mat wrestling that has never gone away, and great facial expressions go a
long way towards telling his story.  Dean Malenko is just a TOUCH under
Regal, but still damned good.

BILL LEHECKA: Chris Benoit has said it himself.  He is the best damn
technical wrestler in the WWF. No one is in his league right now.

BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: When Chris Benoit refers to himself as the best
technical wrestler in the industry today, that's not just another
catchphrase. He really is (with apologies) that damn good. Beautifully
executed moves, and many of 'em. (Steven) William Regal gets second
easily. Dean Malenko gets third, and he'd still be number one if the WWF
allowed him to wrestle for more than three minutes at a time. :( Oh, and
I'm tempted to vote for Steve Austin, after seeing his 11/20 Raw match
against Benoit, just to piss certain people off. :)

LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Prove me wrong. TAKA should have been a nominee.

TANVIR RAQUIB: Benoit and Malenko are amazing on the mat. Guido can flat
out rule the mat given the right opponent (Super Crazy).

JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Regal gets this one because seems to do the littier
things right. Benoit just does all the little things.  Malenko is going
downhill but he can still go.

ROB "R2K" EVANS: Best Technical Wrestler - Can't prove Benoit wrong.  He
is the greatest technical wrestler in the business.  Now give him the damn
WWF Title for his efforts.

JIMBO: Well, after all, hes the best DAMN TECHNICAL WRESTLER IN THE WWF!
He deserves this place!