Dot Net Awards: 2010 Best Wrestler

Dot Net readers voted on a variety of 2010 awards throughout January and February. The following are the results of our final poll for best pro wrestler. Thanks to everyone who took part in the voting. You can check out the other winners in the Awards section.

(1) C.M. Punk: 14 percent
(2) The Miz: 12 percent
(3) Randy Orton: 11 percent
(4) Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, and John Cena tied: 8 percent each
Others: 39 percent

Chris Shore's Thoughts: The readers and I are in complete agreement over CM Punk as pro wrestler of the year. I do not believe there is anyone who is more of a total package than Punk. He can reach every single fan out there through some combination of his mic skills, "business" smarts and in-ring ability. When paired with the right foil, Punk can throw gasoline on their fire and produce brilliance. We saw it with Jeff Hardy, and I think there are several guys on the roster who could greatly benefit from a feud with CM Punk. And that's why he is the best of the best for 2010.

Jason Powell's Thoughts: Punk is a deserving winner, and he appears to be fighting it out with Miz in the role of reigning internet wrestling darling. The Miz? Hey, I love the guy's act as much as anyone, and there's no denying he's taken great strides in the ring. However, I think it's a real reach to vote for him as the best wrestler at this point in his career. Sure, there's more to being a great pro wrestler than just what happens in the ring, but I think that's a big part of the criteria for this particular award.

There's a lot to love about Randy Orton's work. He's a master at saying little, yet telling a great story with his facial expressions and body language. However, name the last truly great singles match that Orton was involved in. Since I have a feeling I'll be waiting a bit, I'll tell you that Orton is consistently good in the ring, yet his matches rarely move into the truly memorable category. HBK didn't wrestle much in 2010, but his match with Taker was a tremendous followup to their match at WrestleMania 25.