Wrestling Digest's Digestie Awards: we couldn't come up with a clever name for our awards, but we think you'll enjoy our offbeat look at the past year of ring action

Wrestling Digest, April, 2003 by Kevin Eck

THIS PAST YEAR WAS ONE MANY wrestling fans--as well as those in the industry--probably would like to forget.

Written off by the mainstream media as a fad that had come and gone, wrestling in 2002 did not come close to the mainstream success it had achieved in the previous few years.

World Wrestling Entertainment, with no major U.S. promotion to compete with (unless you wanted to pay $9.95 every Wednesday to watch a bunch of guys on pay-per-view that WWE doesn't want), saw its television ratings, pay-per-view buy rates, and live show attendance decline at a World Championship Wrestling-like rate.

WWE also was in a creative slump, botching its brand extension and concocting storylines that dealt with necrophilia and same-sex weddings. And to make matters worse, the company's two biggest stars--the Rock and Steve Austin--were absent for most of the year.

It wasn't all bad, though. Brock Lesnar become a breakout star, Hulkamania ran wild again, and "Smackdown" featured top-notch in-ring action on a weekly basis.

Reflective of the strange year that was 2002, WRESTLING DIGEST presents its Digestie awards, honoring (and dishonoring) the good, the bad, and the downright ridiculous in professional wrestling.

THE BRUTUS BEEFCAKE/ BUTSHER/ZODIAC/BOOTY MAN/DISCIPLE AWARD

Given to the wrestler who by any other name still can't draw flies

Winner: A-Train

Runner-up: B2

There are a number of wrestlers who have size and some skills, but they just don't have "it." A-Train, for example, is about as "it-less" as they come.

As Prince Albert, and later just Albert, the wrestler known for his furry back never established himself as anything more than a low mid-carder. A slight push after a victory over Kane for the WWE intercontinental title in 2001 also went nowhere. Seeing that Albert as a monster heel wasn't working, WWE transformed him into a comedic babyface, renaming him the "Hip-Hop Hippo" and teaming the bald behemoth with Scotty 2 Hotty. That didn't work either, and he spent most of 2002 on WWE's "B" television shows.

Near the end of the year, an injury angle was designed to explain the absence of Rey Mysterio, who needed some time off to have knee surgery. Mysterio was really getting over as a babyface, so the wrestler chosen to "injure" him would be getting a significant push.

Rather than go with someone with potential such as Matt Hardy, the decision was made--reportedly by WWE chairman Vince McMahon, who always has been a mark for big men--to recycle Albert, now known as A-Train. When Mysterio's friend Edge sought revenge against A-Train, the fans yawned and just seemed to lose interest in Edge.

In fact, the only heel heat A-Train elicited from the crowd was chants of "Shave Your Back!" In its quest to find another major player, WWE is going down the wrong track with A-Train.

B2 is an agile big man and a decent worker, but he just doesn't have the look or the charisma to make fans want to pay to see him. He entered WWE as Recon, part of a militant group known as the Truth Commission in 1997, before eventually becoming Bull Buchanan, a sidekick to the Big Boss Man, and later a member of the Right To Censor.

At the end of 2002, he was brought in to be the homie of Vanilla Ice wannabe John Cena. Dubbed B Squared, his name was later changed to Bling Bling Buchanan, a.k.a. B2. While Cena's character is off the hook fo sheezy, the 411 on B2 is that he doesn't have the mad skillz to draw serious cake. Booyah!

THE DOINK AWARD

Given to the biggest clown in wrestling

Winner: Vince Russo

Runner-up: Jerry Jarrett

As WWE's head writer, Russo's edgy, risque story lines helped the company do record business in 1998-99. He then parlayed that success into a seven-figure salary as the head of WCW's creative team in the fall of 1999. Russo hoped to turn WCW's sagging ratings around with more adult-oriented content, but instead of creatively pushing the envelope., the sophomoric, illogical story lines just insulted the viewers' intelligence.

As ratings, buy rates, and attendance continued to plummet, Russo not only discounted information gathered from focus groups that were asked how they would improve the product, but he went in the exact opposite direction. He was especially obsessed with "worked shoot" story lines, which were cutting edge in 1997, but in 2000 were about as hip as a Bob Backlund promo.

To top it all off, Russo made sure his heel character got more air time than most of the wrestlers, and he even booked himself to win the world rifle.

Russo kept a low profile after WWE bought WCW in 2001, but his name resurfaced last summer when WWE announced that Russo had joined its creative team. However, after his first meeting with the writing team and Vince McMahon, Russo instead was offered a job as a consultant, which he turned down.

Proving that you can fool some people all of the time, Russo was then welcomed into the new NWA TNA by the promotion's owner, Jerry Jarrett.

Since Russo came aboard, the company has turned into WCW all over again, with juvenile content, worked shoots and, surprise, Russo in a starring role as the leader of a heel faction known as SEX (Sports Entertainment Extreme. Wait, shouldn't that be SEE? Oh, well, makes about as much sense as anything else associated with Russo).