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2000 R.S.P-W Awards

Most Disappointing News item

Awards
Most Disappointing News item            

Award Description:

To be given to the wrestling news item that most disappointed you when heard
of it. When you first learned of this news story, you couldn't believe that
it was true, and when you learned that it was, you were bummed out for a
while. 

Previous Winners:

  1991: Scott Steiner gets injured 
  1992: Legion of Doom: Hawk & Animal split up 
  1993: WWF brings Hulk Hogan back and gives him the title 
  1994: WCW signs Hulk Hogan and makes him World champion 
  1995: Death of Eddie Gilbert
  1996: Scott Hall and/or Kevin Nash leave WWF and/or join WCW
  1997: Death of Brian Pillman
  1998: Death of Louie Spicolli
  1999: Death of Owen Hart

**2000**: David Arquette wins WCW World Heavyweight championship

533 first place votes
515 second place votes
494 third place votes

104 40 30  700   David Arquette wins WCW World Heavyweight championship
 72 39 25  527   Bret Hart suffers concussion, released, retires
 45 49 21  414   Death of Yokozuna
 36 26 13  284   Death of Gordon Solie
 27 30 25  275   ECW taken off TNN
 23 26 34  261   Vince Russo wins WCW World title
 21 28 15  219   Mick Foley loses Hell in a Cell match with Triple H, ending career
 17 20  9  163   Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff return to WCW
 13 14 20  147   WCW workrate plummets through Russo booking and talent losses
  7 10 27  119   X-Pac rarely jobs
  2 19 16   99   Jushin Liger brought in to WCW to job IWGP title to tequila bottle
  8 11 11   95   Mick Foley comes back at Wrestlemania after saying he retired for good
  9 11  8   94   Steve Austin out most of the year with neck injury
  8  9 11   89   Mike Awesome breaches ECW contract to jump to WCW
  9  8  8   85   WWF programming moves to TNN
  8  8  9   82   Scott Hall continues to battle personal demons
  3 10 16   77   Bret Hart uses public forum to complain about the business
  3  7 15   66   WCW Saturday Night becomes clip show...then gets cancelled
  7  5  5   60   Death of Gary Albright
  1  9 14   60   WWF unofficially bans piledrivers, citing potential injury to performers
  3  8  8   55   D'Lo Brown doesn't get a push
  2  7 11   53   WWF reveals Rikishi as driver that hit Austin
  4  5  7   49   Arn Anderson cuts "like the match never happened" promo after Souled Out
  5  7  1   48   WWF not to buy WCW
  7  3  1   46   WCW to be sold / remains unsold
  5  2  7   45   Hardcore Holly suffers broken arm
  1  7  9   44   WWF wastes many good potential matchups at King of the Ring
  3  6  5   43   WCW releases Radicalz
  6  4  0   42   Death of Jumbo Tsuruta
  6  4  0   42   All Japan splits, NOAH created
  4  4  5   42   Triple H rarely jobs
  5  2  4   39   WWF to buy WCW
  3  3  7   38   Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley wins WWF Women's title
  4  4  2   36   Death of Bobby Duncum Jr.
  2  5  5   35   Lenny & Lodi return in new, non-controversial, un-over gimmicks
  2  0 10   30   Vince Russo returns to WCW
  1  4  3   23   Tommy Dreamer loses ECW World title only minutes after winning it
  1  4  3   23   Juventud Guerrera goes nuts, gets fired
  1  2  6   23   Chris Jericho has heat in WWF locker room
  3  1  0   18   Big Show sent to OVW
  0  6  0   18   New Japan sends Shinjiro Otani away
  1  4  0   17   Sid Vicious not on WCW TV after he carried them through tough times
  1  2  3   17   Taka Michinoku injured
  1  1  4   16   Vince McMahon creates XFL
  1  2  2   15   Vince Russo still not fired from WCW
  1  1  2   12   Steve Austin returns
  2  0  0   10   Mr. Ass ready to return to action
  1  0  2    9   WWF makes Latino Heat gimmick too over the top
  1  0  2    9   Kevin Sullivan takes over as head booker of WCW
  1  0  2    9   Death of Tony Rumble
  1  0  2    9   Bobby Heenan removed from Nitro/Thunder/PPV
  1  1  0    8   XPW's "invasion" of ECW PPV
  1  1  0    8   WCW releases luchadores
  1  1  0    8   Eric Bischoff to buy WCW
  0  2  1    8   Vince McMahon: Genetic Jackhammer
  0  2  1    8   Lance Storm signs with WCW
  1  0  1    7   WCW still in business
  1  0  1    7   Goldberg turns heel
  0  1  2    7   PTC launches anti-"SmackDown!" crusade
  0  2  0    6   Vince Russo removed from power
  0  0  3    6   Tazz jumps to WWF
  1  0  0    5   Wrestling Boom Appears at End
  1  0  0    5   WCW still sucks
  1  0  0    5   WCW brings back Eric Bischoff
  1  0  0    5   Vince McMahon spends all his time with XFL
  1  0  0    5   Vader joins NOAH
  1  0  0    5   Triple H wins at WrestleMania
  1  0  0    5   Tony Nelson retires from professional wrestling temporarily
  1  0  0    5   Stephanie McMahon tries to have baby
  1  0  0    5   Russo wins title
  1  0  0    5   Russo jumps to the WCW
  1  0  0    5   Ric Flair's head shaved on national television
  1  0  0    5   Norman Smiley's push stops for no reason
  1  0  0    5   Lex Luger returns to WCW
  1  0  0    5   Death of Leo Nomellini
  1  0  0    5   David Flair wins tag team title
  1  0  0    5   Chris Benoit leaves WCW after winning the World title
  0  1  1    5   Undertaker's endless series of recoveries from injury which allow him to still wrestle
  0  1  1    5   Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki re-sign WWF contracts
  0  1  1    5   Sabu leaves ECW
  0  1  1    5   Rob Van Dam out of ECW
  0  0  2    4   WWF/Hart family lawsuit
  0  0  2    4   WCW brings back Vince Russo for a second time
  0  1  0    3   Wrestling ignored by mainstream press
  0  1  0    3   Vampiro quits WCW
  0  1  0    3   Sid recovered from his injuries
  0  1  0    3   Shawn Michaels not returning
  0  1  0    3   NWO re-formed....again
  0  1  0    3   NWA anniversary show in Nashville
  0  1  0    3   Mark Madden gets permanent Nitro commentary slot
  0  1  0    3   Magnum Tokyo's injury keeps him out of Super J Cup 2000
  0  1  0    3   Lita's breasts are fake
  0  1  0    3   Jerry Lawler supports George W. Bush
  0  1  0    3   Jerry Lawler marries Kat
  0  1  0    3   Hacksaw Duggan turns heel
  0  1  0    3   Eric Bischoff disappears again from WCW
  0  1  0    3   ECW still exists
  0  1  0    3   ECW losing talent to competition
  0  1  0    3   ECW & WCW suffer financial misfortune
  0  1  0    3   Drug Abuse Continues Among Wrestlers
  0  1  0    3   Death of Toru Tanaka
  0  1  0    3   Continuing ratings tumble for WCW
  0  1  0    3   Booker T.'s suffers cracked sternum at hands of Scott Steiner
  0  1  0    3   Big Show added to main event at Wrestlemania
  0  0  1    2   WWF goes public
  0  0  1    2   WWF caves into PTC pressure and tones down
  0  0  1    2   WWF announces 2001 WrestleMania in Houston
  0  0  1    2   WCW remains on the air
  0  0  1    2   WCW dies
  0  0  1    2   WCW $80 million in debt
  0  0  1    2   Trish Stratus has visa problems
  0  0  1    2   Triple H fakes a snake bite
  0  0  1    2   Tammy Sytch appears on WCW programming looking..."tired"
  0  0  1    2   Stan Hansen announces retirement.
  0  0  1    2   Ric Flair doesn't jump to WWF
  0  0  1    2   One year anniversary of Owen Hart's death
  0  0  1    2   No WWF monopoly yet
  0  0  1    2   New Japan books juniors with heavyweights on big shows
  0  0  1    2   Mick Foley returns as WWF commissioner
  0  0  1    2   JR's BBQ sauce finally coming out
  0  0  1    2   Hulk Hogan returns
  0  0  1    2   Hulk Hogan refuses to job to Jeff Jarrett
  0  0  1    2   Hulk Hogan may return
  0  0  1    2   Goldberg returns to action
  0  0  1    2   Four-way title match annouced as WrestleMania main event
  0  0  1    2   Foley coming back after saying he retired for good
  0  0  1    2   Eddie Guerrero dislocates elbow in first WWF match
  0  0  1    2   Davey Boy Smith fails to get clean

REJECTED - ineligible, time or not industry-related

  4  1  1        Death of Gorilla Monsoon
  4  0  1        "Tie" votes
  1  1  0        Death of Rick Rude
  1  0  0        Droz paralyzed during a match
  0  0  2        ECW's exploits Jim Mitchell's injury
  0  1  0        Sean Shannon leaves Rantsylvania
  0  0  1        ScoopThis.com folds
  0  0  1        Jeff Jarrett signs with WCW
  0  0  1        Death of Brian Hildebrand

HIRO: See category 18 for the answer to why David Arquette winning the WCW
World title was a bad idea. In some way, WCW releasing the Radicalz was
good news especially to WWF, so that won't make it the top disappointing
news item. Mick breaking his retirement plans was also bad, though again
didn't necessarily warrant it being the top news item. As always, the
deaths of wrestling personalities isn't the best of news, so RIP to all of
them.

CHRIS BIRD: Wrestling's death count was kinder than usual this year, with
one death by misadventure (Yokozuna) and a bunch of the old-school going
to their last match (Prof. Toru Tanaka, Leo Nominelli, Gordon Solie).
However, Gary Albright's death was needless and tragic, and so long as
wrestling fans continue to stick their heads in the goddamn sand and go
"LA LA LA no deaths LA LA LA", I'll keep voting for needless death in this
category. Wrestling needs a union. Deal with it. Speaking of unions,
incidentally, Bret Hart's retirement should serve as notice that wrestlers
need one - if you need an example of "career shat upon by promoters",
can't find a better one than Bret.

MICHAEL BANKER: Personally, I was very disappointed that both Bret Hart
and Mick Foley retired.  However, it is what both men wanted to do, so I
am happy for them, and therefore I didn't put those two items on the list.  
And how do I decide which death is more disappointing than another?  For
that reason, I just left them off the list entirely.  Besides, death might
not be such a bad thing, after all.  I mean, who knows for sure what it's
like?

J3R CR0WE: WCW are such a bunch of screw-ups. How in GOD'S NAME could they
let David Arquette even enter a fucking ring let alone make him win the
title?  God... so STUPID!

DEVON: I picked WWF's move to TNN because my local cable company, AT&T
broadband, does not carry TNN.  I can no longer watch Raw.  Thanks a lot,
WWF!  I'm glad their ratings are down.

ALEX GIPSON: Odd how this year served as a turning point for a few people
who were, within the last five years, very close to the top of this
business.  Yokozuna's tragic passing stirred alot of old memories I'd
forgotten from my early years in watching wrestling. Workrate and
wrestling ability aside, the big guy really did make a significant impact
in his run on the top-I remember him debuting in October of 1992, and, six
months later, he was the WWF Champion..well, for 128 seconds, of course,
but that little incident did eventually serve to him getting the honors of
officially turfing Hogan from the WWF, and I think he remained as perhaps
the one competitor whom Hogan never was able to get a return match with so
he could redeem himself.  Yokozuna will be missed, and I'm disappointed in
those writers who have been watching this sport for longer than I, who
chided him for his weight and such while failing to remember what impact
he had on the sport. Davey Boy Smith's rapid deterioration is sad to see
as well, as a combination of injuries and personal problems have robbed
the business of one of its most underrated performers.

EDC: Most Disappointing News item : WCW. Period. you take a look at what
WCW put on in spring 99. and Spring 2000, you will see two very different
promotions. One is a very Old School based promotion, with very high
Workrate, and strong in ring charcters, and titles that mean something to
people. The other is a show of inside jokes, paper champions, and shell of
what had once been. And the worse thing is that, they did it to
themselves. RIP indeed....

DANIEL HERMAN: The fact that Vince Russo continues to exist and destroy
wrestling will always be the most disappointing news. However the real
losses this year are the retirements of two of the best figures in
wrestling ever. Bret Hart was always able to pull better than expected
matches out of dead weight and was a true storyteller in the ring,
although his career was sabotaged in the last year and we were witness to
his breakdown he should be remembered as nothing less than a legend.
Foley, while not the best wrestler, was probably the best at eliciting an
emotional response from the fans in, before, and after a match. I have not
felt the same sense of urgency in a match in the WWF since he left.

SCOTT W.: Vince Russo winning the title was worse than David Arquette for
the following reasons.  I hate Vince Russo, and the first reason is just
as good as the next 1000.  When the WWF jumped to TNN, that was bad.  I
mean, I watched the WWF my whole life on the USA network basically. I felt
like my first love left me and went out with a redneck.  I also am sick of
WE'VE GOT POP.  USA wasn't bad with their slogans.  Did they have one?

PETE GOODRICH: Billy Ass...if only RTC could have made it a loser leaves
town match.

JOHN C.: I think Bret Hart's retirement was the most disappointing because
he left with such little fanfare. Mick Foley's retirement was sad as well
although with his new role in the WWF as commissioner he still feels a
part of the action unlike Bret who has disappeared from the wrestling
scene all together. Finally, I'm going to miss watching ECW on TNN because
I rarely missed a show while it was on and I'm hoping it reaches the
Canadian airwaves once again.

REISMARK: I really think the Most Disappointment News Item of the year is
Bret Hart's retirement, but it's not on the list for some reason. I
thought it was in October...?

ANDY P. GOSS: For this category, I decided to focus on in-ring news.  
Gary Albright's death occurred during a match, and that, like Owen Hart's
the previous year, made it newsworthy.  Sid Vicious basically was WCW's
franchise during the Kevin Sullivan era, but Russo had no clue what to do
with him, and thus tossed him aside.  As we speak, they're giving him the
main event spot in Starrcade, which I wholeheartedly endorse.  And the
darkest moment in WCW, the final surrender in the Monday Night War, was
Arn Anderson's post-Souled Out speech.  He basically wrote the Radz right
out of the company and allowed Sully to take over.  Arn, you have more
dignity than that... right?

JON WALTON: The Dean of Announcers passing away just goes to show that the
few vestiges of classic wrestling are passing away.  And that's
disappointing.

BRIAN SCALA: Although RVD is vastly overrated in my humble opinion, he is
a easily marketable wrestler. ECW needed marketable wrestlers all year.  
Therefore, learning of their apparent desire to severe all ties with RVD
can only spell disaster for Paul Heyman and initial success for RVD should
he wrestle elsewhere. Sooner or later, RVD's lack of skills will be
exploited. In the end, as far as who gets the better end of the deal, it's
a wash.

GEORGE JOHNSON: I know he's a whiner, but Bret Hart loved wrestling more
than anyone I've ever seen, and it's heartbreaking to see his career come
to such a pathetic end.

JOE GAGNE: You could fill up this document with all the great moments that
occurred on WCW Saturday Night.  The show then began to lose its
importance thanks to Nitro and Thunder, but was still entertaining as a
showcase for younger talent.  Then it was reduced to a clip show and
eliminated altogether, killing off a bit of wrestling history.  Truly a
shame.

BOB MORRIS: I only listed two items, but both were big...Gordon Solie was
one of the most influential personalities in wrestling and one of the best
announcers of all time. I don't think there's one wrestling announcer out
there who wasn't influenced by Gordon in some way. He will definitely be
missed. It was also sad to hear that Bret Hart will no longer be in the
wrestling ring...it looked like he might get that one last run at the top
when WCW finally made him the World champion, but then he had the
concussion, and things simply didn't get any better for him. I'll
definitely miss Bret for what he contributed to wrestling.

SCOTT ZUCKER: Kurt Angle and Edge & Christian are the best mic workers of
the year, in my opinion. All three were finally given a chance to talk,
and they are very entertaining. Nobody really knew Christian had something
in him. Angle's fantastic and Edge & Christian are a good second to him.

JEREMY SORIA: Though there were several wrestling deaths this year, it
wasn't as traumatic as last year's losses, so none of those deaths made it
to the top three this time. The most damaging news item was ECW losing its
TNN timeslot. I really think with no national outlet with no regular
timeslot, it is going to cripple ECW as far as national recognition is
concerned. They still are the highest-profile independent wrestling
organization in the country today. The other damaging news item is Steve
Austin's ten month absence from wrestling. Sure, the WWF has gone on
strongly without him, but it almost seemed that we missed him for a while.
It's so nice to see him back in action, especially with the recent return
to his wrestling roots. The last item is Triple H. Although he's a
fantastic heel, he has started to hog the spotlight. The thrill of having
millions of fans chant obscenities at you for weeks without end seems to
be getting to Triple H. He must love it so much.

DOMINIC SEIBERT:  Most Disappointing News item (con't.) 4th: WCW releases
Bret Hart who then retires -- A sad way for one of the greatest of all
time to go out.  He deserved better. 5th: X-Pac rarely jobs -- In honor of
the venerable CRZ, our Supreme Awards Dictator, for pointing this out to
me.  Adds quite a humorous anecdote to my weekly viewing to watch out for
(wouldn't it be funny if he starts jobbing regularly to Tori when she
returns full-time?!).

TROY OLSON: I almost had to vote for this nomination:  "Sid Vicious not on
WCW TV after he carried them through tough times."  CRZ, did you put this
in the wrong category?

NATHAN LONEY: I can't do it this year... I can't vote for people's death
as "disappointing".  So, instead I picked three other news items.  
Unibrow from Brooklyn winning the WCW World Title killed any respect that
anybody had for him and for WCW.  Stupid, stupid move by a man who is
nothing but a mark for himself and a mark for the belt.  TAKA and Sho
re-signing made me happy at first, but nothing but bad things have
occurred to them since the re-signed.  So much talent being wasted.  Mike
Awesome using one of Paul Heyman's contracts for toilet paper was also
pretty disappointing.  Nice to see that the talent repects the contract
they signed that much.

BILL LEHECKA: The WWF King of the Ring this year could've kicked 2,398
levels of ass.  Why couldn't you give people the matches that would've
blown everyone out of the water?  It really angers me.

NATE PATRIN: While I'm glad that the WWF has at least a few black workers
who aren't pimps, sex addicts or bad MCs (I bet Del the Funky Homosapien
wrestles better than K-Kwick raps), they're pretty damn short on
non-Cheech Hispanics. And don't get me started on Kaientai. Agh.

MATT SPAULDING: It boggles the mind how WCW can put David Arquette on TV
and yet not make a good faith effort to keep four of its best workers.  
And Bret Hart, after spending most of the year bitching about the state of
the business and damaging his legacy in the process, finally did what was
good for him and got out of it.

BLAZEJ SZPAKOWICZ: For once, I find myself voting for something other than
death in the top slot, as I don't think any news item the whole year
through the year affected me more than Mick Foley's retirement. A class
act, all the way. Sure, it's probably a good thing he stopped as an active
worker when he did, but that doesn't mean we can't be sad about it. We'll
miss you, Mick! The deaths of Gordon Solie and Yokozuna get my other
votes.

LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Mick deserves all the props he gets and more.

TANVIR RAQUIB: A wrestler dying during a wrestling match is enough to feel
pretty depressed about - for numerous reasons. A distant second, Tommy
Dreamer having his night taken from him by the overpushed Credible was a
bitter pill to swallow for ECW diehards, including Sean Shannon. And for
the bronze, the most promising tag team in wCw gets told to stop being gay
and thus, becoming indy workers less than 8 months later.

MIKE PLYLEY: I'm not going to put any wrestler deaths here since I really
don't feel people should choose whose death was the most important.

TOM CRUZ: Russo and Bischoff. How can anyone take a company with amazing
talent, an unlimited budget and the production resources that WCW had, and
manage to fuck it all up so badly? Mick Foley's retirement was a needed
thing, but I'll be damned if I wanted him to go out the way he did. WCWSN
being killed off was a real shame, as it was the last bastion of actual
honest to God wrestling from the big two.

JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: I don't get TNN here, so WWF moving there is a loss
for me.  I was a little excited about Liger coming back to WCW but that's
before Russo screwed that up royally.  Vinny Ru winning the WCW title was
one of the final straws for WCW.

ROB "R2K" EVANS: Most Disappointing News Item - Again too many deaths this
year, however my votes go to the retirements of Mick Foley and Bret Hart,
two of the greatest wrestlers of all time.  Foley should have gone out on
top, and Bret should have gone out in the WWF.

JIMBO: Yokozunas death saddened us all....it was especially bad
considering WWF was considering bringing the big man back...well, now Owen
gets his tag partner back i guess...Hardcore Holly was on the verge of
breaking out and then he did just that.  He broke.  X-Pac has talent but
why, why WHY dont you do a job???

JBELL55146: For me, nothing was as disappointing as going pretty much the
whole year without seeing Steve Austin. The man who almost single handidly
created the wrestling boom that so many people thrived on this year wasn't
even around to see it really take off this year. I for one am thrilled to
see the ol' rattlesnake back. And anytime somebody is forced to retire
because of injuries and overall toll on the body it's a shame, but when 2
legends like Mickey Foley and Bret Hart retire, it really is sad to see.
They will both be missed tremendously.

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