Dot Net Awards: 2010 Best Babyface

Dot Net readers voted on a variety of 2010 awards throughout January and February. The following are the poll results of the Best Babyface category.

(1) Randy Orton: 24 percent
(2) John Cena: 16 percent
(3) Shawn Michaels: 11 percent
(4) Daniel Bryan: 10 percent
(5) John Morrison: 8 percent
Others: 31 percent

Chris Shore's Thoughts: I have some real problems with this category because true babyfaces are hard to come by anymore. The guys at the top of the voting, especially Randy Orton, are really not babyfaces when you consider the things they do to their opponents. Babyfaces are defined now by being cheered as opposed to booed, and even then some babyfaces are booed due to oversaturation. Since cheering seems to be the dividing line, I have to agree with the readers on Randy Orton because no one was more consistently cheered this year than he was.
 
John Cena is the other obvious choice, and I would have picked him if it wasn't for the fact that Cena can be very polarizing for fans, many of which are tired of him and his current gimmick. I don't see that with Orton just yet. Shawn Michaels wasn't around long enough to make a big enough impact on the year, and while guys like Daniel Bryan and John Morrison are more traditional babyfaces, they just didn't have enough impact to be considered.

Jason Powell's Thoughts: I lean Cena despite the good points that Chris made about his character being a turnoff for some. Cena may turn off many (including yours truly at times), but he is the face of WWE. Plus, while Orton may not get the boos, I don't see evidence that the kids are as into his act as they are Cena's act. They don't boo Orton, but they don't seem to be buying his merchandise of cheering as passionately for him as they do Cean.

Shawn Michaels was an awesome babyface during his final months with the company. He wasn't around for the entire year, but he was so good throughout his retirement angle that I can't object to anyone who cast a vote for him. I'm also fine with the Daniel Bryan votes because WWE unintentionally stirred up a lot of online support by firing him, and he was really over after he returned. Unfortunately, WWE opted to mess with the formula by adding Divas to his act.