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<> WRESTLER of the YEAR - Chris Benoit
     RUNNER UP - John Bradshaw Layfield "JBL"
     2004 was definitely Chris Benoit's year. From January to August, he was undefeated in pay-per-view matches. He won the 30-man Royal Rumble match. He defeated Shawn Michaels and Triple H in a Triple-Threat Match to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and then successfully defended the championship against them both in another Triple-Threat Match and in single matches. He defeated such stars as "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Kane. He won the WWE World Tag Team Championship with Edge on two separate occasions. One of Benoit's success stories is being one of the few wrestlers that Triple H could never defeat on a one-on-one match. Triple H continued to challenge Benoit and after every Championship Match, it was Benoit holding the gold and being called the winner while Triple H was being called the loser. Benoit was also one of the few wrestlers to be a true friend to Eugene, despite Triple H manipulating Eugene's mind temporarily. Now it's Benoit who is Eugene's favorite wrestler and not Triple H. When Benoit finally did lose the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton at SummerSlam, he didn't let that discourage him. He continued to win matches on RAW and by the year's end, was back in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture as one of the top contenders for the championship.

<> DIVA of the YEAR - Trish Stratus
     RUNNER UP - Victoria
     There has never been a female wrestling personality who went from just being eye candy at ringside to one of the most dominant female wrestlers in the history of the industry all in five years. Trish Stratus has won the WWE Women's Championship for an unprecedented SIX times. When 2004 began, she was involved romantically with Chris Jericho and it looked like she was happier than ever but then she surprised the world when she turned on Jericho at WrestleMania 20 and joined Christian. The duo made life hell for Y2J but was on the losing end of a Handicap Match at Backlash. Trish made history for the first time in June when she became the FIVE time WWE Women's Champion by defeating Lita, Gail Kim, and Victoria in a Fatal Four-Way Match. It was around July when Trish started harassing Lita due to her situation with Kane. By late-August, she was outright destroying Lita with cruel comments. While she was screwing with Lita's mind, she was also giving the Diva Search 2004 contestants a hard time. She and the rest of the Divas (minus Lita) challenged the remaining contestants to Diva Dodgeball but the WWE Divas found themselves on the losing end. Trish was able to retain her championship at Unforgiven, Taboo Tuesday, and Survivor Series but those would be the last pay-per-view events of 2004 where she'd find herself as champion. In November, Lita started to get revenge on her former friend by breaking her nose at Survivor Series and then capturing the championship in December in one of the best Women's Championship Matches of all-time. Despite this loss, Trish kept herself in the title hunt and promised to teach Lita a lesson.

<> PAY-PER-VIEW of the YEAR - WWE WrestleMania XX
     RUNNER UP - WWE Survivor Series
     WrestleMania is always one of the best pay-per-views of the year but this year all of the hype around the event was lived up to. WrestleMania XX truly was the place where dreams came true as Chris Benoit and John Cena both won the championships they were chasing. For Benoit it was a dream that was 18 years in the making as he finally won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a grueling Triple-Threat Match that also involved the champion-Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Cena's dream was finally defeating then-WWE United States Champion, The Big Show for the championship. Both men were the underdogs and both men proved to the world that if you want something bad enough, you can get it. WrestleMania XX also brought heartbreak and betrayal as Trish Stratus turned on Chris Jericho and joined his number one enemy, and former best friend, Christian. The scene of Stratus leaving the arena and licking her lips, while looking back at the downed Jericho, will be one scene many fans will remember forever. WrestleMania XX was a night of comebacks as Paul Bearer returned to WWE and brought back The Deadman, The Undertaker. The Undertaker successfully returned and proved to his brother, Kane, that you can't kill the dead. Those two men weren't the only ones to return to the squared circle. Mick Foley and The Rock also returned to action to face Evolution's Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista in a Handicap Tag Team Match but were unsuccessful in their attempt to teach Evolution a lesson. WrestleMania XX had it all. Drama, suspense, even comedy but the one thing it had the most was awesome wrestling matches.

<> GENERAL MANAGER of the YEAR - Theodore Long
     RUNNER UP - Eric Bischoff
     Despite Eric Bischoff's reign of over two years, Theodore Long has had the shortest reign of General Manager on SmackDown! However, he has been the fairest and most productive GM in WWE history. He has a philosophy of "If you want to fight, do it in the ring!" so if wrestlers choose to attack each other in the backstage area, they will find themselves in the ring fighting. He has been the reason the WWE Heavyweight Championship has more prestige to it now. JBL, the current champion, has been placed in matches that the fans want to see. On the SmackDown! after Armageddon Long ordered JBL to defend the championship against Kurt Angle. Long seems to be the perfect match for SmackDown! and hopefully the brand won't have anymore switches of the GM because that cannot be healthy for a company. Long hasn't celebrated his first year as GM but if the first few months are any indication, he will be a very successful GM.

<> MATCH of the YEAR - WWE Hell In A Cell Match: Shawn Michaels V/S Triple H, Bad Blood
     RUNNER UP - WWE Heavyweight Championship Match: Eddie Guerrero V/S JBL, Judgment Day
     It was a match that was supposed to end the legendary feud between Shawn Michaels and Triple H. In the old days, the way to end a feud was a Steel Cage Match, but in this day and age that just won't do. So the two combatants did battle in a Hell In A Cell Match. The match lasted for 45 minutes and in the end it was Triple H who got the victory over Michaels. Fans even saw HBK bring a ladder and a table into the ring and after climbing the ladder, he elbow splashed Triple H into the table. But that just wasn't enough as HBK went down after suffering a Pedigree. On this day and in this match, Triple H proved to be the better man.