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1999 R.S.P-W Awards

Best Wrestling Gimmick

Awards
Best Wrestling Gimmick

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

339 first place votes
330 second place votes
313 third place votes

 72 52 41  598   Hardcore Holly as a "Super Heavyweight" ("Big Shot")
 68 34 27  496   Chris Jericho as Y2J - saviour of the WWF
 30 32 20  286   Mankind as the Rock's best friend
 26 18  5  193   Rock
 18 14 20  172   Lenny & Lodi as...brothers
  5 23 15  124   Jeff Jarrett as a male chauvanist
  6 12 17  100   Steve Corino as an old school wrestler/a whiner
 13  4  5   87   Blue Blazer
 10  7  8   87   Mr. Socko
  7  9 12   86   Godfather
  4 14  5   72   Great Muta
  3 11  8   64   La Parka
  4  7 10   61   Norman Smiley
  4  5 13   61   Stevie Richards as everybody else
  3 12  5   61   Yoshihiro Tajiri as Great Muta ripoff
  8  2  7   60   Kane
  6  4  6   54   Angry Amish Roadkill
  7  2  5   51   Undertaker
  2  7  9   49   Brood
  1  4  9   35   West Texas Rednecks
  2  4  4   30   Cat as "the greatest"
  2  3  4   27   GTV
  1  6  2   27   Revolution
  1  5  3   26   Chyna
  5  0  0   25   Rock & Sock Connection
  1  3  5   24   Ric Flair as President of WCW
  2  3  2   23   Al Snow
  4  0  1   22   Babar the Elephant Boy
  2  1  3   19   Raven
  3  1  0   18   Kurt Angle
  2  2  1   18   SSU in GAEA
  2  2  1   18   D-Generation X
  1  3  1   16   Goldberg
  1  3  1   16   Gangrel
  1  2  1   13   Sexual Chocolate Mark Henry
  1  1  2   12   Val Venis
  0  3  1   11   Berlyn
  1  1  1   10   Too Cool
  1  1  1   10   Sandman
  0  2  2   10   Triple H
  0  2  2   10   Steve Austin
  1  0  1    7   Mr. McMahon
  0  1  2    7   New Jack
  0  0  3    6   Rikishi Fatu
  1  0  0    5   Tokyo Magnum as a male stripper
  1  0  0    5   Taz
  1  0  0    5   Simon Diamond
  1  0  0    5   Sandman-Tommy Dreamer-Raven (eligible?)
  1  0  0    5   Oz Academy
  1  0  0    5   Mr. Gannosuke as Hayabusa
  1  0  0    5   Mikiko Futagami as a shootkicker
  1  0  0    5   Mean Street Posse
  1  0  0    5   Jerry Lynn
  1  0  0    5   Higher Power
  1  0  0    5   Eddie Guerrero as a rudo
  1  0  0    5   Disco Inferno
  0  1  1    5   Sabu
  0  1  1    5   Chris Benoit
  0  1  1    5   Big Bossman
  0  1  1    5   Barry Darsow forgetting his gimmick
  0  1  1    5   Acolytes
  0  0  2    4   Corporation
  0  0  2    4   Bret Hart
  0  1  0    3   West Hollywood Blondes
  0  1  0    3   Spike Dudley as the Giant Killer
  0  1  0    3   Los Brujas
  0  1  0    3   Lex Luger as the Total Package
  0  1  0    3   Jushin Liger
  0  1  0    3   Jersey Triad
  0  1  0    3   Ivory
  0  1  0    3   Gillberg
  0  1  0    3   Eiji Ezaki as H, Mr. "sports entertainment"
  0  1  0    3   Edge
  0  1  0    3   Dudley Boys
  0  1  0    3   Derek St. Holmes
  0  1  0    3   Crazy Max
  0  1  0    3   Buh Buh Ray Dudley
  0  1  0    3   Anti-US/Canada revolution (?)
  0  0  1    2   Vincent as "Curly Bill"
  0  0  1    2   Team Nostradamus
  0  0  1    2   Shane Douglas
  0  0  1    2   Screamin' Norman Smiley
  0  0  1    2   Scott Hall
  0  0  1    2   Reckless Youth
  0  0  1    2   Outsiders
  0  0  1    2   No Limit Soldiers
  0  0  1    2   Mr. Rocko
  0  0  1    2   Meng
  0  0  1    2   Los Chivas Rayadas
  0  0  1    2   Gerald Brisco & Pat Patterson
  0  0  1    2   Filthy Animals
  0  0  1    2   Dead Pool
  0  0  1    2   Dave Taylor & Steve Regal & Fit Finlay as British ass kickers
  0  0  1    2   Cuddley Berr is a "Super Bear"
  0  0  1    2   Chris Chetti "Livin La Vida Loca"
  0  0  1    2   Beaver Cleavage
  0  0  1    2   Ashley Hudson/Cory Williams as "The New South"

REJECTED - ineligible

  0  1  0        Oklahoma    
  0  0  1        Creative Control    

CHRIS BIRD: Hardcore Holly was a BRILLIANT gimmick that didn't need to be
modified to get tons of old-school-honest-to-god heel heat. The West Texas
Rednecks salvaged no less than five wrestling careers. Lenny and Lodi made
me laugh a lot, and what more can one ask for, really...?

JEREMY MORAN: Owen's gonna get a lot of sympathy votes here as the Blue
Blazer, but it really was a great gimmick.  Considering all the "faces"
who even five years ago would have been heels, it was interesting to see
the roles reversed and a "face" who was technically a heel because of who
he wrestled.  Bob Backlund was ahead of his time.

EDC: La Parka brings a new meaning to the word gimmick. He lives it, baby!
WTRs where great just by being politically incorrect. Hardcore Holly went
from an nobody, to crowd favorite in about a blink of an eye.

CYBERAL33: Taijiri has really found his niche in ECW. He has established a
great look for himself and it helps make up for his size...he's still a
potential main eventer thanks to this. Corino's old school gimmick has
been cracking up independent fans for years and it fits him so well. His
resthold while seated on a steel chair is classic...almost as good as
teasing the throw into the crowd. Hardcore Holly's dillusional gimmick
cracks me up everytime (especially the early challenges to take on the
Acolytes by himself!). Gotta love the scale!

K. CANZANELLA: Lenny and Lodi's gay gimmick was freaking hilarious and
executed to a -T-, and you have to give them credit for trying such a
gimmick in front of such an immature audience. Tajiri doesn't have much
charisma so it was wise to give him a gimmick that revolves around mystery
and silence than keep him as a face. What Lucha Fan *doesn't* mark for the
Soccer Goats?

SVEN MASCARENHAS: I'm really ambivalent about putting the Blue Blazer as
my first place vote, but I can't help think of that BRILLIANT interview
Owen pulled off on the UPN pilot. The Blazer, hero for children and adults
everywhere, was an incredible thought, and it's a shame that it ended the
way it did, because (despite what Bret Hart says) Owen looked like he was
having the time of his life. While Hardcore Holly and Steve Corino's
gimmicks were basically polar opposites, they both succeeded in their own
way.

MATTHEW CLEARY: Mikiko Futagami's new look and image are just so badass.

OCTAVIAN:  I don't know about anyone else but Tajiri went from very
watchable in the ring to very entertaining with his Muta ripoff.

DON BECKER: The "allegedy 800-pound" Holly cousins schtick is hilarious -
just hilarious.  And pretty damned creative, I must confess.  Tajiri as a
Muta ripoff is a pretty faithful homage.  Lenny & Lodi as...brothers gets
the sympathy vote, as if Turner's standard & practices folk read this...

SHAWN MULLIN: Y2J is a great gimmick, it's perfect for Jericho.  He's a
clueless heel so he's actually going to believe that sports entertainment
is sinking the WWF, and the great part is, he's actually representing a
lot of wrestling traditionalists in what he says.  Unfortunatley, it's
just too damn easy to like Jericho.  The Big Shot gimmick is another great
clueless heel gimmick that turned Bob Holly's career around, and the West
Texas Redknecks made Curt Hennig fun again.

MAX CHITTISTER: It took a while to grow on me, but I really got into Lenny
and Lodi. Mick and Rock together are pure gold. While I may not like it, a
wrestling pimp has great potential for both crowd reaction and instant
feuds.

CAN00K: The Rock and Sock Connection produced some of the funniest moments
in sports-entertainment this year.  Granted, it produced "This is your
life...".  I still think Foley was hilarious in that segment, and the lack
of a real punchline, along with the fact that The Rock said nothing but
his stupid, repetitive, unfunny, and overused catchphrases was the thing
that made it suck.

PAUL SHOCK:  Superheavyweight Holly gets my vote, because he was just so
damn funny.  GTV is second, because it was a (semi-) believable way of
getting cameras into places that you wouldn't expect them to be.  
Finally, La Parka.  To quote Chan and Charlie from DDT Digest; how can you
not like "an old, knee-wobbling Mexican wearing an outfit that resembles a
skeleton?"

BLOB: A lot of good wrestling gimmicks came out this year, but 3 really
stood out in my mind. Chris Jericho gets unbelievable pops for WWF marks
that could care less about wrestling, propelling him over "I Hate
Hardcore" Steve Corino. Speaking of Corino, if doesn't make the top 5,
it'll be a damn shame. Hearing his interviews are a treat. As for the big
shot, he made thousands of wrestling fans into major Holly marks.

GEORGE CARTER: Even if the big payoff was a screwjob on Smackdown, I liked
the Rock and Sock Connection. It was entertaining (even if they had that
horrid 30 minute 'This is your life' segment on RAW) and just plain fun.

JOHN C.:I have to go with Jericho cause his entrance into the WWF was just
spectacular. After that it was tough call but I have to say Bob Holly's
"big shot" gimmick and Flair as commissioner were also memorable gimmicks
of the past year.

RICHARD BEAUBIEN: The WWF does gimmicks right, and wrong...But they do it
right more often than WCW. The Rocks gimmick is a fine example, as it
elevates a mid-card abaility wrestler into the super-stardom. A fine
gimmick delivered by a man who has embraced Sports Entertainment.  Y2J
though, is a mic of Old school heel tatics with New attitude sports
entertainment. And Jericho is Jericho, which must tick WCW off because his
gimmick is more over in the WWf despite not being too different from his
old WCW one.  Foley is fun, nuff said...

JAN-MORTIZ KAEDING: Both the Blue Blazer and "Big Shot" Holly were
hilarious. I give WCW much credit for keeping the Berlyn gimmick far less
offensive then it could have been, so I want to reward it here with a 3rd
place.

JOE GENTILE:  1st: Hardcore Holly as a Superheavyweight? It amazes me that
the WWF was even able to get me to care about this guy, never mind make
him one of my favorites. 2nd: Y2J, his intro was the markout moment of the
year.  3rd:  Flair as comissioner. Why oh WHY did WCW screw this one up???

CHANCE50JR: Okay, they didn't need to bring Crash into things, because Bob
Holly as the Big Shot was entertaining as hell.  But he still manages to
keep me interested even with Crash weighing things down.  I'd like to see
how long they can keep this running and how far they can take it.  I never
thought I'd be a Bob Holly fan, but the gimmick changed things.

DAVID HANNA:  GTV is a great story telling tool.  As CRZ likes to lament
about cameramen in places they should not be, GTV solves that problem.  I
bet we see a GTV segment at Test's bachelor party! (I was wrong about
that!) The GodFather's Ho Train is an excellent example of the current
state of wrestling.  The Godfather is no lurchador but this gimmick has
made him one of the most popular mid card guys in either Fed.  Hardcore
Holly had something going when he was trying to be the Big Show's friend.  
It's ashame they abounded this angle before it went the distance, but I
still got a lot of laughs out of it.

MARK SMITH:  "Gimmicks" aren't really being pushed anymore, as opposed to
"characters," but the original "Big Shot" was a shot of genius that had me
laughing my ass off for a while.  I really thought Beaver Cleavage
would've gotten over, given the chance.

BEN MILLER:  Wrestling is depraved, so give me the woman beater, the sex
addict and the dominatrix.

KEVIN WONG: Bob Holly has finally gotten a measure of respect by having a
decent character.  And I thought the "brothers" thing was hilarious.  And
GTV has been done well - at least you don't have to explain how a
cameraman got there.

B. SZPAKOWICZ: With apologies to the West Hollywood Blonds, Godfather,
Kane, Rock, Corino and Tajiri, this goes to: Hardcore Holly, the (roughly)
400 pound mammoth that he is; Chris Jericho for, well, doing about the
same thing he did last year; and Mankind for the Rock and Sock Connection.

RYAN GRANT:  CHICKENNNNSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

JEREMY SORIA: Again as a tribute to Owen Hart, he's on the ballot. Chris
Jericho's whole gimmick, from WCW into the WWF, has certainly been a blast
to watch. And the whole Lenny and Lodi thing was very promising and
actually a positive thing - never has having blow pops before the match
been so fun.

JUSTIN JONES: Rock N Sock! Rock N Sock! Oh, and I don't care if it's a
rip-off, Tajiri's Muta gimmick is the coolest thing in ECW. Put a belt on
this guy already.

HEATM:  No one else has gotten over on the strength of their gimmick more
than the Godfather.  He's at least attempted to take a sure-fire face
gimmick and work it to the point where the fans are actually cheering him
too.

ROB EVANS: Best Gimmick - Stevie Richards as everybody else could be an
awesome gimmick.  His opponents would "never know which Stevie was going
to show up."  Too bad it's used only as comedy.

MDB: The secret to Rock's success is that Mankind makes the arrogant
Maivia's schtick tolerable.  For 15 minutes on Raw, Foley brought out
people from Rock's life and the segment scored a record rating in the
Monday night wars.

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