Dot Net Awards: 2010 MVP

Dot Net readers voted on a variety of 2010 awards throughout January and February. The following are the poll results of the MVP category. We will unveil the rest of the winners on Sunday.

(1) The Miz: 32 percent
(2) C.M. Punk: 13 percent
(3) Randy Orton: 11 percent
(4) John Cena: 8 percent
(5) Chris Jericho: 7 percent
Others: 29 percent
 
Chris Shore's Thoughts: A lot of people have different criteria for what makes a Most Valuable Person because what is of value to me is different to you. For me, the MVP means the person who did the most for his company in that year in terms of making money and/or improving visibility. That being said, I have to give the award to John Cena. There is no one on this list who did more, was worth more, or would have been devastating to do without than Cena. The proof to me is in the willingness to give refunds on house shows due to his absence.
 
I understand the readers desire to give Miz this award. He had a breakout year to be sure. But his value to WWE is in these next few years, not this one. WWE spent this year investing in the Miz so that he can be very valuable in the future. I see giving this award to him in the very near future, but I just can't do it this year.

Jason Powell's Thoughts: The voting in this category irks me, as I couldn't disagree more with the readers. As much as I enjoy The Miz, he's not the guy selling the pay-per-views, t-shirts, wristbands, etc. Whether online fans like it or not, Cena was the true MVP of pro wrestling in 2010.

Cena was the centerpiece of the major storylines and is the top act in company. With all due respect to the readers, I don't even think a compelling case could be made for anyone else on this list getting a No. 1 vote. The Miz, Punk, Orton, and Jericho would probably tell you the same thing. They all had terrific years and warrant high rankings, but this award should have gone to the face of WWE.

Honorable mention for me goes to Wade Barrett. He didn't crack the top five, but this guy came out of nowhere to lead the hottest heel faction WWE has seen in years. The faction suffered the loss of its best in-ring talent in Daniel Bryan, and lost others due to injury, yet he was the glue that kept the faction clicking and made it seem like Cena truly had the deck stacked against him for a change. Barrett should be an elite WWE star for years to come.