Wrestler of the Year

There's no need to wait a few more weeks, before I determine who has earned the right to be considered Wrestler of the Year. In my opinion, the top three have to be The Great Muta, CM Punk and Chris Jericho.

The Great Muta won the IWGP Heavyweight Title and the AJPW Triple Crown World Heavyweight Title, cementing himself as the King of Japan. However great these accomplishments, it was not that much of a surprise. Muta has long been an established star in Japan.

CM Punk began the year as ECW World Champion. After losing that title, he found himself in the finals of the 2008 King of the Ring tournament and won the Money in the Bank match, at Wrestlemania. When he cashed in his title shot, he defeated Edge to become the World Heavyweight Champion on the WWE's flagship program. However, Punk is a star on the rise and none of this should seem too shocking. The World Title win was, but then mediocre booking and lackluster title defenses took the wind out of his sails. He recovered from his title loss by winning the World Tag Team Title, but he's inched farther away from the main event picture.

This brings me to the final candidate and winner of the Pro Wrestling MAYHEM Wrestler of the Year Award for 2008... "Lionheart" Chris Jericho. Jericho returned to the ring, late last year, after being gone since 2005. He hadn't been relevant since 2002-2003, in all honesty. Not much was expected from his comeback, as many thought he'd come back to shill his book, put a few guys over and then disappear. Instead, he managed to remain in the spotlight, since returning.

Things got off to a slow start with the bland face routine and the Orton and JBL feuds, but Jericho did win the IC Title for a record setting 8th time. Not only did he break his previous record, but this IC Title reign was the longest of any that he's ever had. He then spent much of the year in the hottest feud in the company, becoming the best heel in the WWE as well. After dominating HBK, he went on to win the World Heavyweight Title, unexpectedly, and defend it against the likes of CM Punk and Shawn Michaels, in cage and ladder matches. He stumbled with Batista, losing the title for a week, yet regained it in another grueling cage match. In a short time, Chris Jericho has done what he fell short in accomplishing in years past: he cemented himself as a bonafide main eventer. Even following his title loss to Cena, he managed to defeat Orton and Batista in a three-way to determine who got the title shot at the next PPV. Though he doesn't have the belt, his position does not seem to have diminished. Even Orton was reduced to being his lackey, this past week, as Raw faded to black with the image of Jericho torturing Cena with the Lion Tamer, reminiscent of an episode of Raw, from earlier this year, which ended as he was standing tall over the fallen bodies of Cena and HHH.

Jericho has made a monumental comeback and accomplished a lot in a short span of time. For these reasons, and more, he is the Pro Wrestling MAYHEM Wrestler of the Year. Congratulations to "Lionheart".