Dot Net Awards: 2009 Best Heel

Dot Net readers voted on a variety of 2009 awards throughout January and February. We will be revealing the winners throughout the weekend. The following are the poll results of the Best Heel category.

Chris Jericho: 38 percent
Randy Orton: 20 percent
CM Punk: 18 percent
The Miz: 4 percent
Kurt Angle: 4 percent
Others: 18 percent

Rich Twilling's thoughts: Again, I will give the nod to Jericho with Punk as a very close second and Orton a very close third. All three guys could be argued for the top spot, but Jericho was too damn good not to get the top spot. Jericho lost a lot of matches in 2009 and every win against him was still a very big deal. He continues to be one of the best things going in all of wrestling. For what it is worth, Punk is well on his way to winning this award in 2010. Orton, in my opinion, had a breakout year in terms of developing a personality. He has been a main event guy for awhile now, but he really flourished in 2009.

Jason Powell's thoughts: It was a strong year for elite heels. The business went through a stretch of time where most heels were more concerned with being cool than turning the crowds against them. The wrestlers listed above were true heels. Jericho gets the nod in yet another category. Orton was right there with him at one point, but WWE creative did him no favors by having him win and lose the WWE Championship repeatedly to the point that the act grew tired before it should have. Fortunately, he's back on track now and appears to be headed toward a babyface run.

I'm still surprised that WWE actually went ahead with Punk's Straight Edge heel character. It took some balls given that his character preaches about prescription pill abuse, which has been a major problem in WWE over the years. The Miz is on a roll right now and should move up the list next year if the company does more to establish him as an in-ring threat. It will be interesting to see whether A.J. Styles cracks the list at the end of the year now that he and Kurt Angle have swapped spots. Will Styles shine or will Ric Flair overshadow him?