Welcome to the 2002 Tito Awards, live from the Wrath of Tito column! I am your host with the most, Mr. Tito. I'm deck in my monkey suit and I'm ready to hand out awards for the BEST of 2002 in professional wrestling, namely stuff within the WWE because I don't watch anything outside of cable television here in America. I decided to add lots of extra awards, so enjoy!

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I like how XPW's Supreme called Hulk Hogan "overrated". Yeah, like Supreme will ever put people's asses in seats like Hogan. Not in Supreme's lifetime.

On to the awards!

The 2002 Tito Awards

BEST WRESTLER: Kurt Angle - Always a consistent performer, continued great mic skills, and had several Match of the Year candidates. He should have been Undisputed champion a while ago.

BEST TAG TEAM: The Guerreros - Best teamwork around. Greatest tag cheaters, too. Very close call, given the great teams of Angle/Benoit and Edge/Mysterio, with Booker T/Goldust never being able to shine to get this award.

MATCH OF THE YEAR: Edge/Mysterio vs. Angle/Benoit on the November 7th edition of Smackdown, Best 2 out of 3 falls - This match is probably behind the No Mercy match, but hear me out. In the 4 falls that these guys wrestled, there was non-stop action. The No Mercy bout was like a regular great tag team match, but the athletic display in the 2 out of 3 Falls Smackdown match was incredible. I'm sure this will be disputed, but it's my opinion and understand why I chose it as the winner.

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR: Goldust - He came back at Royal Rumble 2002 and actually became a great character on RAW. Not only that, his in ring ability has also improved, as Dustin Runnels seems to be enjoying wrestling in the WWE right now. Keep up the great work! Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, and Hulk Hogan are very close seconds.

BEST CRUISERWEIGHT: Rey Mysterio - Despite hardly wrestling in the WWE's Cruiserweight division, Mysterio is a legit Cruiserweight and he performed well with the larger wrestlers. He was so good that he was kept out of the Cruiserweight division.

BEST WOMEN'S WRESTLER: Trish Stratus - I can appreciate the effort she gives every night.

PAY PER VIEW OF THE YEAR: - Summerslam 2002. Michaels vs. Triple H, Rock vs. Lesnar, and Angle vs. Mysterio. Nuff said!

MOST IMPROVED: Eddie Guerrero - After dealing with personal problems that held back his wrestling career, Eddie Guerrero broke out in 2002 as an incredible performer. He's actually up there as Wrestler of the Year, as well, in my opinion. He's such a great heel and you'll hardly ever get a bad match out of this guy.

BEST ANNOUNCING TEAM: Michael Cole and Tazz - Ross and Lawler are so stale right now.

BEST MIC SKILLS: Kurt Angle - The man. Nuff said!

MOMENT OF THE YEAR: Eric Bischoff debuting in the WWE - I'll admit that I was shocked to see him there. The second best moment was the Rock vs. Hogan match at Wrestlemania, where Hogan received an overwhelming face pop.

BEST STORYLINE IDEA: Smackdown Tag Team Titles - Creating these titles was a very smart idea, given that some of the best matches of the year were fought over these very belts.

BEST MANAGER/VALET: Paul Heyman - Not many managers around these days. Give credit to Heyman for EFFORT in the case of the Big Show and Brock Lesnar early on.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Brock Lesnar - After a bumpy road at first, Lesnar slowly grew into the main eventer the WWE hoped he'd become. Now, let's hope he receives some better opponents to show his true potential.

BOOK OF THE YEAR: "Vince McMahon: Sex, Lies, and Headlocks - I have yet to read Lawler, Heenan, or Hogan yet.

BEST SPOT OF THE YEAR: Eddie Guerrero's sunset flip off the ladder on Rob Van Dam on the May 27th edition of RAW - Award created just for my pals Schwab and Da Ref on the Message Boards.

BEST ENTRANCE THEME: Rey Mysterio - This theme gets you pumped to see Rey-Rey in action!

BEST FACE: Rob Van Dam - Fans love him, no matter what. No heel turns in 2002 sealed the deal. Too bad he can't talk to increase his pops. Duuuude!

BEST HEEL: Kurt Angle - Loud "you suck" chants still in WWE arenas.

2002 All-Tito Team

John Madden rules, so here's an idea I took from him. Let's just say this is the team of wrestlers I'd take into 2003.

Tall Wrestler/HOSS: Kane
Strong Midcarder: Eddie Guerrero
Main Eventer: Kurt Angle
Tag Team: Booker T and Goldust (mind you, that Eddie was chosen already)
Cruiserweight: Rey Mysterio Jr.
Rookie: Brock Lesnar
Announcing Team: Michael Cole and Tazz
Manager: Paul Heyman
General Manager: Eric Bischoff
Women's Wrestler: Trish Stratus
Top Valet: Torrie Wilson

LAST WORD: That concludes this year's Tito Awards. I hope you enjoyed them, and I hope you have enjoyed the holiday season. Enjoy 2003 and thanks for another year of continued support of Lords of Pain and my columns.

Check out the Valley Wrestling Federation and Willygoat Xtreme Wrestling. Two great backyard feds.

WRESTLEPALOOZA.com - Audio Show, Columns, News, and more!

KOLTERSHOCK!!! - A site that you shouldn't view with small children present!

X-Entertainment.com - One of the most entertaining pages on the net!

@Back Tuesday to review RAW.

Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.

Mr. Tito © 1998 - 2002 Exclusive to LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com