Lo-Down Awards 2013

It's now time for the 3^rd Lo-Down Wrestling Awards. I've not watched as much wrestling as I would have liked. However, I enjoyed the majority of what has happened in WWE this year and TNA, not so much. Let's see who will be (metaphorically) taking home a Lo-Down Wrestling award.

Most Improved Wrestler of the Year

Goldust

I know he hasn't wrestled for a couple of years but he has been a revelation since he made his return teaming up his brother Cody Rhodes. They feuded with the Shield culminating in them winning the Tag Team Championship. Goldust may be 44 years old but he is not wrestling like it and I hope that continues in 2014.

Best Newcomer

Big E Langston

Big E Langston has been a joy to watch over the last year. After being affiliated with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee (and being her worst ever bodyguard), he turned face and ended the year as the Intercontinental Champion. I didn't think of him highly when he first started but he has really grown on me and he has the potential to be a huge star.

Worst Match of the Year

The Real Americans vs the Great Khali and Santino Marella, Battleground

This match was terrible and shouldn't be anywhere near this Pay-Per-View. Even though it featured the giant swing by Antonio Cesaro on Khali, that highlight could not save this match.

Douchebag of the Year

TNA Wrestling

It looked like it was going to be a great year for TNA with them leaving the Impact Zone and touring the country. Instead, they were losing money and released a lot of their talent; seemed to be reluctant to help people out who were ill like Zema Ion; and now rumoured to be up for sale. I hope that 2014 can go a hell of a lot better.

Pay-Per-View of the Year

Summerslam

This was such a great event with a lot of really entertaining matches. The fact that this event contains the a strong contender for match of the year, promo video of the year and the moment of the year should speak for itself.

Rivalry of the Year

AJ Lee vs Kaitlyn, May 2013-July 2013

Some of the male rivalries this year were good but I don't think they stood out as much as this did. They had a really good match at Payback followed by another good one at Money in the Bank. Also, it really developed AJ Lee's character, helping her on her way to becoming the highlight of the Divas Division and making her the LDW Female Wrestler of the Year.

Promo Video of the Year

Summerslam

The videos used to promote rivalries this year were decent as always but I really enjoyed the grindhouse style that they used for the beginning of Summerslam. It really made you excited for the event and I thought it was really well done.

Moment of the Year

Randy Orton Cashing In His Money in the Bank Briefcase, Summerslam
We all see false finishes in matches all the time. However, this is a time where we see a false finish to a Pay-Per-View. When Daniel Bryan wins the WWE Championship, we see him celebrating and confetti goign down. Then we see another false finish with Randy Orton coming out and teasing a Money in the Bank cash-in. When Triple H pegidrees Bryan and Orton does actually cash in, it showed a really cleverley done moment by WWE.

“Ok, I Did Not See That Coming” Surprising Moment of the Year

Daniel Bryan Joining the Wyatt Family

A lot of people are speculating that this would happen but I didn't want it to because I didn't think it was the right thing to do. However, I thought that the way it was done was done brilliantly by WWE. Bryan has had some victories against the Wyatts but in every episode of RAW and Smackdown, he got beaten down badly by them. Bryan obviously realised that his efforts were futile and decided to join them instead. It also shows a fallible side to his character because he is not John Cena, with his never give up character. It might end up with Cena, via the Bellas, being the person to save Bryan. Whilst I'm torn over whether I want that to happen, I will still be interested to see how that feud develops.

Honorable Mention: The Double Turn

Dolph Ziggler vs Alberto Del Rio, WWE Payback

This was one of the most brutal matches that I have ever seen in the PG era and it told a really good story. Ziggler, who was the heel at the beginning, had previously concussed and Del Rio understandably focused on the head. However, the way that he did it was well done as he showed absolutely no remorse or mercy in the process. During the match, it got to the point where people were booing Del Rio and cheering Ziggler due to the effort he had put in. The only other time a double turn has been successfully pulled off was at Wrestlemania XIII between Bret Hart and Steve Austin and it was good to see something like that happening again.

Male Wrestler of the Year

Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan was a front runner to win this last year and if it wasn't for CM Punk's 15 month title reign, he would have. This year, Bryan has gone from strength to strength. From Team Hell No and teaming with the Undertaker to winning the WWE Championship (twice) and feuding with the Authority to feuding with then joining the Wyatt Family; Bryan is one of the most over wrestlers in the company and I hope it continues in 2014.

Female Wrestler of the Year

AJ Lee

Like Daniel Bryan, AJ Lee came very close to winning the Female Wrestler of the Year last year. However, this year, there was no contest. Her rivalry with Kaitlyn was really good and she is close to becoming the longest reigning Divas Champion of all time. The best thing I like about her is the fact that she is the most complete character in the Divas division and she has given the chance to develop that over the last couple of years. I hope 2014 will be another tremendous year for her.

Match of the Year

Antonio Cesaro vs Sami Zayn (2 out of 3 falls)

WWE NXT, aired 21^st August 2013

If you have not seen this, it was probably one of the best matches that I have ever seen and it, along with the articles by Brandon Stroud (who was at this match), made me start to become a big fan of NXT. There were so many big moves by both competitors, including Zayn jumping through the turnbuckles on the outside and hitting a tornado DDT, and the ending was absolutely amazing. Zayn tries to go for another tornado DDT and Cesaro stops it three-quarters of the way through the move. Cesaro manages to get Zayn up above his shoulders, push press him into an European uppercut then hits the neutraliser to get the victory. I was very close to giving this award to the Cena/Bryan match at Summerslam. However, every so often, I go on You Tube and watch the end of this match and that shows how much I enjoyed it. I strongly recommend you find this match on the internet because I guarantee that you will not regret it.