This category is for the men on WWE TV throughout the majority of the year past year and played a key role. Their performance on the mic and in the ring helped create drama and sell tickets. They made you believe, and got you wrapped up in the show. From an acting standpoint, they are the modern day Steve Austin, Ric Flair or The Rock. They exemplify what a professional wrestler should be. And the nominees are: Windham Rotunda for his portrayal of Bray Wyatt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQN8De6_RDM Bray hasn't been an on-air character for the entire past year, but he's made a big impact every time he's on. Some wrestlers are never able to overcome their past incarnations, but Husky Harris is all but forgotten these days. He's easily one of the most interesting characters in all of wrestling right now, and the best part is, he's only just begun. Phillip Brooks for his portrayal of CM Punk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GZAh-lOpNw Punk may be inactive at the moment, but he again displayed his superb acting chops while he was around. This past year he was mainly a babyface, which acting wise, isn't exactly his strongest suit, but he still made it work. His feud with Paul Heyman was one of the best of the year, and due to the connection he's developed with the crowd, many are begging for him to return. John Cena for his portrayal of John Cena http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEtaWLZ-PPk Love him or hate him (and most over the age of 10 hate him), John Cena has put on some great performances in his time. Very few wrestlers have ever been blessed with the natural charisma that he possesses. When he's on, he cuts a money promo (which gets fans to order pay-per-views, and go to house shows) better than anyone else. Jonathan Good for his portrayal of Dean Ambrose http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUr592XnFgA Ambrose is a natural talker. He's easily cuts the best promos in The Shield, and has been vital to their success. With his talent on the mic, it's not hard to picture him being a pay-per-view main-eventer some day. And the winner is...
Bray Wyatt
Simply, there is no one in all of wrestling who plays their character as convincingly as Windham Rotunda does in the role of Bray Wyatt. You can imagine that his character would fit right in on a variety of big budget horror movies with well-known actors, and he'd still steal the show. Who would have ever guessed that he had it in him when he was originally cast as Husky Harris and subsequently demoted back to NXT? Thankfully for his career (and for fans in general) he received a new character, and helped shake up the wrestling world. When watching wrestling, it's hard to believe that Summer Rae is actually a ballroom dancer, or that Los Matadores are famous bull fighters or that Drew McIntyre is in a rock band. But Bray Wyatt? He absolutely seems like an evil, depraved hillbilly cult leader from the deep South. His promos are fascinating (even if they don't always seem to make sense), and he understands his character better than anyone else in WWE does. While top guys like John Cena, Randy Orton and Triple H have the occasional clunky or boring promos, Wyatt has yet to fail. By the time he's done, he has the ability to be one of the all time great wrestling characters.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
