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2008 Pro Wrestling Year in Review

By Eric Cohen, About.com

Vince McMahon gives his money away.

Will Ragozzino/Getty Images
2008 was a strange year that saw three US Senators that were running for President cut wrestling promos on each other during an episode of Monday Night RAW. Ba Rock won his triple threat match against Hil-Rod and the McCainiacs. Hopefully the economy will smell what Ba Rock is cooking as the collapse of the financial sector has caused a tidal wave of economic doom that has already had an impact on the wrestling business.

10 Biggest Stories of the Year
The biggest story of the year was the retirement of the 16-time World Champion. What were the other nine stories to make this list?

10 Biggest Question to be Answered in 2009
The biggest who done it to play out on Friday night television since JR was shot on Dallas should be answered soon on Friday Night SmackDown.

2008 PPV Results and Recaps
Between the WWE and TNA there were 26 PPV events this year. If you needed any proof that there were too many PPV events, TNA proved it this year when they had to use the same name twice for a PPV because they apparently couldn't come up with something better than Final Resolution.

2008 Title Changes
2008 saw the WWE replace the Cruiserweight Championship with the Divas Championship and TNA create a Legend's Championship.

The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2008
For the first time in WWE history, an active wrestler was inducted into the Hall. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire the following day. Here is a photo gallery from the ceremony.

Photo Gallery of WWE DVDs Released in 2008
A visual look back at all of the DVDs the WWE released this year with links to dozens of reviews.

2008 About.com Pro Wrestling Awards


  • Turkey of the Year: Is it worse to allegedly leave your stash of drugs behind or to appear on a rival promotions TV program? One of these men was released from his contract while the other is currently getting the biggest push of his career.
  • Rookie of the Year: Was the winner of this award the man that loves Double Double E or the man that spent several months "Jamaking" Mike Adamle crazy?
  • Feud of the Year: This feud saw a banned wrestler come back to the company after his enemy was caught cheating on his wife.
  • Most Popular Wrestler of the Year: Both the winner and the runner-up missed some time this year due to situations that put their WWE careers in jeopardy. Both men gained the admiration of the fans when they persevered through their struggles and made triumphant returns.
  • Most Hated Wrestler of the Year: Did the husband or the wife of the most vilified couple in WWE history win this award?
  • Tag Team of the Year: Somone forgot to tell this team about the WWE brand split.
  • Match of the Year: Only in wrestling can someone kick a friend in the face after saying "I Love You."
  • Wrestler of the Year: Did an Olympic gold medalist or a first-time WWE Champion win the award?

Prior Pro Wrestling Years in Review

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