2018 was not a great year for science fiction.  There were way more bad films than good ones.  In fact, I struggled to find much in the positive category.  Of course, I did not count super hero movies, which technically could be in this category.

Best Sci-Fi

Upgrade.

This is really the only positive sci-fi movie of 2018.  Creative and original, Upgrade even had a shocking finale.

Now some people loved Annihilation this year, but I found it a bit muddled and confusing.  It leans towards positive though.   I even included Solo:A Star Wars Story, which is not even considered sci-fi and it is, at best, average.  Solo was not as bad as many people stated.

Worst Sci-Fi

Mortal Engines

Boring.  A poor film without much characterization that was just too long and boring.

Unfortunately, there were many more choices in this half than the positive one.  A Wrinkle in Time was quite a failure.  The Cloverfield Paradox had a huge start with a Super Bowl commercial, but the Netflix film fell flat.  Pacific Rim: Uprising was a sequel that I did not want, but it was way worse than the first one (which I did not love anyway).  The Darkest Minds is a YA adaptation that was basically an X-Men ripoff.  Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom turned into an insane film with the worst third act possible.  Ready Player One was another failure and was no where near as good as it could have been.

2018 saw many great voice acting performances and the “I Am Groot” Award recognizes not only the great voice-over acting, but also the best of the motion capture world, which has become an even more prevalent storytelling technique.

This is the third year for this award, and we threw in an honorary winner in year one (Robin Williams as the Genie).

Previous Winners:  Auli’i Cravalho, Andy Serkis, Robin Williams (honorary)

#4. Holly Hunter (The Incredibles 2).  Holly Hunter is the hero in the Incredibles 2 that takes that step to the front and she knocks it out of the park.

#3.  Sarah Silverman (Ralph Breaks the Internet).  As Vanellope von Schweetz, Sarah Silverman dominated that movie.  She is the heart of the Ralph movies and brings the emotion to the animated movie.

#2.  The cast of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.  Could not choose one from this group.  Shamiek Moore, Nicolas Cage, Jake Johnson, Lily Tomlin, Hailee Steinfeld, Liev Schreiber, John Mulaney, Mahershala Ali, Chris Pine, Kathryn Hahn.  So many great performances that I just felt like it was a disservice to narrow it down to one or two.

And the “I Am Groot” Voice Acting Award goes to….

#1. Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War)

About half way through Avengers: Infinity War I stopped and thought to myself that Thanos was CGI.  I couldn’t believe that I never even thought it once until that point.  It is such an amazing mo-cap performance from Josh Brolin, and he adds a perfect voice to display the emotion and the pain shown by the Mad Titan. The Villain of the Year gains his second year end honor.

Best Animated Movies

#5.  Smallfoot.  A surprise film this year.  I liked this more than I eve thought I would.  The story of a Yeti and his discovery of the mythological “small foot”/human.

#4.  Ralph Breaks the Internet.  A fun sequel to a surprise hit, this time Ralph takes his act into the Internet and shows how funny the place can be.

#3.  Incredibles 2.  Another great sequel that follows right up from the original from 14 years ago.  Jack-Jack vs. the Raccoon is one of the best scenes of the year.

#2.  Teen Titans Go to the Movies.  No way this is number two!  But here it is.  So much fun, really full of great humor, and cameos everywhere!  Teen Titans GO!

#1.  Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse.  One of the best movies of the year, not just animated movies.  Many people are calling this the best Spider-man movie ever and that is possibly true.  An amazing story, full of heart and laughs, and the most risk-taking animation I have seen in years.

Worst Animated Movies

I skipped Sherlock Gnomes, and a few others…

#2. Hotel Transylvania 3.  I have never enjoyed this series of films and this was every bit as bad as the others.

#1.  Early Man.  I so hated this.  I hated it within the first five minutes and I regretted coming to it.  It is most likely in my top 5 (for sure in top 10) worst films of the year, not just animated.  It was so stupid that I felt stupider after watching it.

Villainy found its way into 2018.  After eliminating Donald Trump from contention (heh heh), I was still able to come up with a group of villains worth facing off against for our heroes.  We know that a good hero needs a good villain.  Here are the best and worst of 2018.

Best Villain

#9.  Graviton (Agents of SHIELD)– Graviton was a great villain for season 5 of AoS and fit perfectly with their storyline.

#8.  Black Manta (Aquaman).  One of my favorite parts of the latest DC Movie, Black Manta may have been better off being saved for the sequel.

#7.  Michael Myers (Halloween).  Michael returned from prison a new man and picked up right where he left off…an obsession with Lori.

#6.  Bullseye (Daredevil).  The season three was as much of an origin story for Bullseye as it was anything else and he was remarkably compelling.

#5.  Billy Lee (Bad Times at the El Royale).  A great movie that not enough people saw, Chris Hemsworth continues to show his amazing versatility by playing the creepy cult leader.

#4, Andrew Ghai (Movie Trivia Schmoedown).  The best heel of the year. The man speared his former teammate.  Obnoxious and crude.  Awesome.

#3.  Killmonger (Black Panther).   Michael B. Jordan was brilliant as Killmonger, a character who was clearly a villain, but one that you kind of understood why he was doing what he was doing.  Brought a distinct gravitas to the film.

#2. Kingpin (Daredevil, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse).  This villain was done twice, in two distinct styles, and was great both times.  Wilson Fisk is another character that you can relate to despite his evil intentions.

#1.  Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War).  Of course, the number one villain is the one who killed half the universe in a movie that made over 2 billion dollars.  He is basically the protagonist of the Avengers: Infinity War film and he wins at the end.  Huge year for the Mad Titan.

Worst Villains

#7.  Negan (The Walking Dead).  The Negan storyline lasted way too long and killed any momentum that it may have had.  Now he is neutered and in prison.

#6.  Cyrus Bean (Scandal). The always manipulative Cyrus took too many steps into the dark in the final season of Scandal and became a cartoon.

#5. Slenderman.  Not a very good monster in a terrible horror movie.  The documentary was scarier.

#4.  Braun Strowman (WWE).  It is hard to be a villain when the crowd wants to cheer you.  So the Braun Strowman heel turn lasted about a month and a half.

#3.  The Nun (The Nun).  The movie made a bunch of money, but it was just a terrible film.  More like Annabelle than the Conjuring, The Nun was not scary and had too many laugh out loud minutes. Plus, we did not see the Nun much.

#2. Carlton Drake (Venom) Even if you liked Venom, you have to admit that Riz Ahmed was completely wasted.  Drake was a cookie cutter villain without any appeal.

#1.  Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood).  Ben Mendelsohn is a tremendous actor, but the performance he gave in this terrible film was so horrid that it did not matter if the rest of the film was good.  Your main villain was a joke and this film was going down.

We have had a strong year for the young actors in the movies.  So much so that it was tough picking the one who would earn this award.

Specifically, the “I See Kid Actor” Award goes to an actor under 18 years old. The older actors playing young people do not count (sorry Tom Holland).

I have narrowed the list to eight performances and I probably missed some.

Previous Winners:  Emjay Anthony, Jacob Trembley, Millie Bobby Brown, Dafne Keen

#8.  Gustavo Quinez (Instant Family)

#7.  Julianna Gomex (Instant Family)

#6.  Abby Eyder Fortson (Ant Man & the Wasp)

#5.  Sunny Suljic (Mid90s)

#4.  Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place)

#3.  Isabela Moner (Instant Family)- she was 17 and still qualifies.

#2.  Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place)- would have won this in other years.  She was amazing in this movie.

And this year’s winner… 

#1.  Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)

Elsie carried the surprising and entertaining film Eighth Grade with such poise and brilliance.  I still can feel how tense I felt, how absolutely scared I was when she was in the back seat of that car (you know what I am talking about if you saw this movie).  She was as real as any eighth grade girl could be.  She is the reason that this film is as great as it is.

Best Expendable Supporting Actor:  Dolph Lundgren, Creed II.  He is back as Ivan Drago in this year’s sequel, Creed II, and he is surprisingly good.  Drago is given some stuff to do in the story and Lundgren is great.

Best Expendable Cameo of the year:  Terry Crews, Bedlam.  Deadpool 2/Once Upona  Deadpool.  A member of the ill-fated X-Force in Deadpool 2, Terry Crews meets a shocking and unexpected fate.

Best Expendable Professional Wrestler:  Ronda Rousey, WWE RAW Women’s Champion.  Ronda has taken to the WWE beautifully, showing off her athleticism all year long.  She is still working on those promos though.

Best Expendable Actor with Gigantic Shark:  Jason Statham, The Meg.  It takes a special kind of Expendable to be able to tangle with a gigantic, thoguht to be extinct dinosaur-like shark, but Jason Statham can do it.

Okay, it is time to review the world of comics.  Now, when I say world, I mean Marvel Comics since I do not pick up other comics. No offense to any of the other comics out there, but I have too much to read as it is.

Starting off with…

Best Marvel Comic of the Year

#8.  Runaways– Love the return of the original bunch (plus Doombot)

#7.  Champions– engaging group of young heroes trying something different.

#6.  Spectacular Spider-man– Including JJJ was a stroke of genius.

#5.  Daredevil– Mayor Fisk was extremely compelling. Loved DD’s characterization.

#4.  Amazing Spider-man– Peter and MJ back together.  

#3.  Immortal Hulk– shows what can happen when you write a classic character smartly.

#2.  Marvel Knights 20th- still underway, but remarkably enjoyable.

#1.  Old Man Hawkeye

Old Man Hawkeye was the most compelling, fascinating and exciting comic of the year.  I loved the path of revenge that Clint Barton set out upon in hopes of finishing before he went blind.  We got to see a possible future Marvel Universe with a character that played a huge part in the Old Man Logan saga.  I typically am not a fan of the alternate reality/Possible future type storylines, but Old Man Hawkeye was a book I made sure that I read as soon as it came out.

Best Heroes of 2018

Miles Morales.  You have to consider him a huge star now as his animated movie is a leading candidate for an Academy Award nomination.

Immortal Hulk.  Write the character as he was initially meant… a monster…and see what happens.  Bruce Banner can die, but the Immortal Hulk… well, he’ll be pissed.

Hawkeye (Kate Bishop).  Not only is she a key hero in Old Man Hawkeye, but she also is the leader of the new West Coast Avengers.

Black Panther.  After the success of his film, T’Challa was everywhere in the Marvel Universe.

Best Issue.

#1.  Spectacular Spider-man #310.

This felt like a new version of The Kid Who Collected Spider-man, which was one of the greatest back up stories of all time.  Here, a kid is filming a documentary on Spider-man and getting interviews of all the important people in Spidey’s life.  The book is fantastic and packs a solid punch.

#2. Marvel Knights 20th #1.

Marvel Knights 20th #1 starts out a brilliant series telling the story of a group of Marvel heroes who have forgotten who they are.  This issue perfectly kicks off this six-issue series with a story that you have to know what is next.  Includes appearance by Matt Murdock, Frank Castle, among other Marvel stars.

#3. Old Man Hawkeye #7

Everybody dies.  How did the Thunderbolts betray them all?  Here is how.  A fabulous issue that shows how we get to where we are.

#4. Immortal Hulk #7

Hello?  I mean… what is happening in this series?  What a wild ride we are on.  And this issue really shows that Immortal Hulk is every bit a horror story as a superhero one.

To go along with the Matches of the Year, the Schmoedown has many awards to be given out.  Again, there are SPOILERS here for the Schmoedown Spectacular III.  Go watch it!

On Patreon, the Schmoedown provides exhibition matches for its patreons.  Here are the Top 5 of the year.

Exhibition Matches of the Year

#5.  Mark Ellis vs. Kristian Harloff

#4.  Rachel Cushing vs. William Bibbiani vs. John Rocha vs. Samm Levine vs. Marc Andreyko

#3.  The Jurassic Park Iron Man

#2.  Horror Fatal Five Way

#1.  Movie Release Dates Iron Man

Scot Mantz regained the Movie Release Dates slice from Ben Bateman in this exciting and impressive exhibition of movie release date knowledge.

Player of the Year:  Ethan Erwin.  From out of nowhere.  I did not expect him to win, but with his title win over Rocha at the Spectacular, his 8-1 record and his amazing resume this year, he shot past the other contenders.  Runners-Up:  Samm Levine, John Rocha, William Bibbiani, Clarke Wolfe, Marc Andreyko.

Rookie of the Year:  Ethan Erwin.  Again, this was right down to the wire, but with Ethan’s title win and Mara’s defeat at Spectacular, Erwin’s status as Rookie of the Year was cemented.  Runner-Up: Mara Knopic.

Manager of the Year:  Emma Fyffe.  The Fyffe Club was just fantastic all year long and Emma was the consistent voice of her faction.  Runners-Up:  Finstock, Jay Washington, Roxy Striar

Faction of the Year: The Fyffe Club.  Not even close.  The Fyffe Club showed to be the most supportive group even put together.  They are legitimately friends and their chemistry comes through.  Runners-Up:  The 5 Horsemen, The Lion’s Club

Team of the Year: The Shirewolves.  The Internet did not want to give them their due, but they kept fighting and overcame the misogyny to end the year 5-0 and team champions. Runners-Up: Above the Line, Who’s the Boss, The Harris Brothers, Team Action

Face of the Year:  Rachel Cushing.  This was a tough category, but Rachel showed the perseverance and the heart required of a face all year long.  Runners-Up:  Clarke Wolfe, Marc Andreyko, Samm Levine, Dan Murrell

Heel of the Year:  Andrew Ghai.  Kalinowski almost made his way to this award, but the Spectacular showed that Ghai is unparalleled in the world of bad guys.  His spear of his friend and partner Ben Bateman was an unexpected twist.  Runners-Up: Mike Kalinowski, Jay Washington, Finstock

Moment of the Year:  The 5 Horsemen revealed.  This is the biggest moment of the Schmoedown’s year.  Everything came together perfectly here and the live crowd and the Internet lost their freakin’ minds.  Runners-Up:  Shirewolves win titles, Ghai beats Murrell, McWeeney reacts to win, Samm Levine shows up when no one gets his character from Inglorious Basterds, Ghai spears Bateman.

Shock of the Year:  Andrew Ghai wins!  It was a foregone conclusion that Dan Murrell would defeat Andrew Ghai in Murrell’s return match.  However, Ghai had other ideas.  This is the upset of all-time and solidified Ghai as the best heel going.  Runners-Up:  Ghai spears Bateman, Kristian is Chairman of the Board, Ghai comes out to Murrell’s music at Free 4 All.  

Best Cosplay/Costume:  Jeanine the Machine as Misty Knight.  Her bionic arm looked downright real.  It was an amazing outfit and I looked forward to what she will bring moving ahead.  Runners-Up:  Brianne Chandler from GLOW, Stacy Howard as Edward Scissorhands, the Bill & Ted double outfits.

Top 5 Entrances (more than just an outfit/costume)

#5.  Shirewolves as Thor and Hela.

#4.  Seibold/Heuck in black and white “summoning”

#3.  Girls Run the World, Shirewolves at Schmoedown Spectacular III

#2.  William “The Beast” Bibbiani explodes out of the chest of Mark Reilly

#1.  William “The Beast” Bibbiani with the MST3K entrance.

I never thought anything would top the Alien homage, but “The Beast” did it with an extended and really funny MST3K opening skit.

Backstage Interviews:  The Founding Fathers after loss.  There were tears everywhere, even from Jenn Sterger, as John Rocha and Dan Murrell showed their passion after a controversial defeat.  Runners-Up:  Bibbiani from the future, Shirewolves’ historic win, Josh Macuga and Jenn Sterger-Wildberries!, Bibbiani facing off with Rocha, Who’s the Boss gracious in defeat.

Best Interviewer:  Jenn Sterger.  She became the regular backstage interviewer this season and she showed why.  She was awesome with everything.  She asked the tough questions.  She engaged with the contestants.  She brought humor, wit and charisma.  Runners-Up:  Emma Fyffe, Brianne Chandler

[Note- This post will contain SPOILERS for the recently dropped SCHMOEDOWN SPECTACULAR III.  If you have not yet watched that event, please do so before going over this list.]

The Movie Trivia Schmoedown has become one of the best shows on television and they present some astounding competitive matches throughout the year.  The brainchild of Kristian Harloff and Mark Ellis, the Schmoedown continues to grow to new heights each year.

The matches on this list are the Top 30 matches in the opinion of EYG.  You may have other thoughts and that is perfectly fine.  I will state that I think this list was extremely challenging to compile as there were so many top notch matches presented on the Collider Video YouTube channel that narrowing it down to a Top 30 was not easy.  In fact, there may be matches that I missed that should be included.

My original list was well over 30 so I had to trim the choices down.  How this was determined was by not only how competitive a match was, but by how entertaining.  Some matches dropped down the list because of a TKO result.  Some appeared on the list because of reactions of the players.  Some are here because the match, although not technically sound or even that close, featured entertainment and laughter or amazing moments.

Honorable Mentions:  Stacy Howard vs. Marc Andreyko vs. Jeanine the Machine triple threat, John Rocha vs. Andrew Ghai, Marc Andreyko vs. Ben Bateman, John Rocha vs. Ethan Erwin, John Rocha vs. Ben Bateman, Lon Harris vs. Ethan Erwin, Lon Harris vs. Ben Bateman, Jason Inman vs. Mara Knopic.

#30.  Clark Wolfe defeated Ben Bateman.  Great match in Ultimate Schmoedown Tourney that went down to the final question.

#29.  Drew McWeeney defeated William Bibbiani. Began with the epic “Beast through Mark Reilly’s chest” entrance. This was arguably the low point of the year for “The Beast” before he went on a huge run.

#28.  Lon Harris defeated Josh Macuga.  This was not that close of a match but made the list because of Josh Macuga’s entertaining banter and Lon’s character work.

#27.  Samm Levine defeated Rachel Cushing to retain Schmoedown Championship.  This one would have been higher on the list but the TKO result (which came because of a brilliant speed round from the champ) affected it.  Prior to the speed round, this match was going bonkers.

#26.  Ben Bateman defeated Scott Mantz.  Bateman suckered Mantz into putting the Movie Release Dates slice on the line and wound up winning it for a while and Ben had his face on the slice.

#25.  Who’s the Boss defeated the Cinemaniacs.  In the Anarchy tournament, this was one of the most competitive matches and continued to feature the great humor of Matt Knost.

#24.  Emma Fyffe wins the Commissioner Bowl at the Schmoedown Spectacular III.  Emma surprised the world by defeating Kristian, Finstock and Thadd Williams to claim the commissionership.  Another remarkably entertaining match that may not have been as technically sound.

#23.  Clarke Wolfe defeated Mike Kalinowski in sudden death for #1 Contender.  Both Clarke and Kalinowski had big seasons and this early season showdown was no exception.  Featured one of the more difficult round threes of the show’s history.

#22.  Ethan Erwin defeated Clarke Wolfe in Ultimate Schmoedown finals.  It came down to one word.  Clarke had the match won but she answered her five point question Southside With You, instead of Southside With Me and lost.  One word.

#21.  The Shirewolves defeated Brianne Chandler and Bryan Bishop for team titles.  While not as close of a match, this makes the list for the reaction of Clarke and Rachel after the victory and for the historic nature of their win.

#20.  The Wildberries defeated the Reel Rejects at the first live show.  This match was very competitive and matches are always entertaining with the Wildberries.  This opening match set the tone for the night at the Schmoedown’s first live event.

#19.  Critically Acclaimed defeated Modok.  Two great teams in a great match, each dressed as Bill and Ted.  Whoa…..

#18.  2018 Free 4 All.  Brianne Chandler won the Free 4 All with amazing performances from William Bibbiani and Ethan Erwin.  The Free 4 All dropped a bit because the match did not end up as an elimination style.

#17.  Mike Kalinowski defeated Mara Knopic for the Innergeekdom championship at Schmoedown Spectacular III.  Great match that went into sudden death (how many sudden deaths did KO have this year?).  Match was marred by awkward post match interview.

#16.  Marc Andreyko defeated Ethan Erwin.  Andreyko is the only person to have defeated rookie sensation Ethan Erwin this season and the match was very strong.  Andreyko had himself a truly great 2018 in the Schmoedown.

#15. Andrew Ghai defeated Dan Murrell.  In the biggest shock of the year, Andrew Ghai, whose heel work has been off the charts this season, knocked off the returning GOAT, Dan Murrell at the Collider Collision II.  Ghai was absolutely on fire in this match and deserved the upset win.

#14.  Mara Knopic defeated Mike Kalinowski in the Innergeekdom Tournament.  Kalinowski may have gotten the toughest 5 point question in Schmoedown history.

#13.  Team Action defeated DC Movie News.  This competitive match led to the heel turn of Kalinowski and the creation of KOrruption.

#12.  Take the Cannoli defeated the Self-Righteous Brothers.  A match from the Anarchy team tourney, this was competitive and entertaining, featuring the debut of Marc Edward Heuck.

#11.  William Bibbiani defeated Marc Andreyko for the Schmoedown championship.  These two had a tremendous long awaited rematch of their debut match, and now it was for the vacated title.  That this did not make my top 10 speaks to the quality of matches in the Schmoedown in 2018.It also featured one of the best entrances of the season with William Bibbiani enlisting the aid of his Critically Acclaimed teammate Witney Seibold to do an MST3K entrance.

#10.  Lon Harris defeated Cody Hall.  This was supposed to be an early season throwaway match, but Cody Hall did not get that memo.  Cody took the Professor to the limit, going into sudden death before succumbing.  This perfectly encapsulates the Schmoedown’s passion of the competitors in a match that had no real stakes and kicked off season five.

#9.  Shirewolves defeated Team Action at the Live Event.  What a match this was.  Team Action played a great game, but blew a couple of answers and you cannot afford to blow answers against a team as dominant as The Shirewolves.

#8.  John Rocha defeated William Bibbiani for the Schmoedown singles championship.  A match that we wanted to see for years and it did not disappoint.  Rocha decided to stand during the match like Bibbiani has done all year since the Free 4 All.  Rocha completed his huge comeback to the title.

#7.  Top 10 defeated Top That in #1 Contender’s Match.  Maybe the best Top 10 match ever, they were on fire against the trivia might of Top That.  One of the highest scoring team matches of the year.

#6.  The Shirewolves defeated Who’s the Boss at the Schmoedown Spectacular III.  The match of the Spectacular this year saw these two teams put on a classic that came down to the final question.  The respect shown after helped to elevate the match even more.  Back and forth until the very end with maybe the best round two ever.

#5.  KOrruption defeated The Founding Fathers in sudden death.  Huge controversial finish in sudden death marred what was an unbelievable match.  The Founding Father’s emotional interview afterwards with Jenn Sterger was the punctuation on the powerhouse match. Chase Ellison continued to impress the other players.

#4.  Samm Levine defeated Clarke Wolfe to retain the Schmoedown Championship.  Another sudden death classic.  This match was back and forth and could have been anyone’s victory.

#3.  Above the Line defeated the Patriots in an Iron Man Match.  Two of the best teams of all time going at it in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.  What more could you want?  How about the break up of the Lion’s Den in the post match interview?  Movie trivia masters on display in, perhaps, the most challenging format available.

#2.  Above the Line defeated The Patriots for the Team Championship.  Finally, the might have fallen.  The Patriots, who went 9-0 prior to this match and held the team championship for a year and a half, finally met defeat at the hands of Samm Levine and Drew McWeeney in a match that went down to the final question.

#1.  Mara Knopic defeated Rachel Cushing in the Innergeekdom tourney.  I have never seen anything like this.  This was another sudden death match that ran multiple questions, but it was compounded by the fact that Rachel was sick as a dog and that Mara was in pain from an auto accident the day before.  With both women distinctly under the weather, they could have rescheduled the match for a time when they both were feeling better, but they did not and they went on to put together not only the best match of this year, but one of the all-time classics in Schmoedown history.  They showed heart, passion and created the most compelling drama of any match during this season.  Both women showed the amazing competitors that they are and that they were true champions.

It was a truly sad moment when Stan Lee passed away in November.  He was an iconic personality who had helped create a mythology of the current world.  He was an amazing person and he will be totally missed.

Now, having said that… here is the EYG Award named after the Man.  The EYG Stan Lee Cameo of the Year Award.

Previous winners:  Stan Lee (twice), John Cena, Chris Evans, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman.

Runners-Up:  Brad Pitt (Deadpool 2)– The Vanisher!  Darth Maul (Solo: A Star Wars Story)– a fun surprise in an average film.  Red Skull (Avengers: Infinity War)– the crowd gasped at the return of Red Skull in Infinity War.  This might have been the second place finsiher.  Michael C. Hall (Game Night)– Dexter arrived in Game Night.

Winner:  The three time winner…. Stan “The Man” Lee!!!!

Stan Lee was amazing in cameos this year… And he was everywhere with FIVE (count them) FIVE cameos this year!

Black Panther

Avengers: Infinity War

Ant Man & the Wasp

Teen Titans Go to the Movies

Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse

The great Stan Lee becomes the three-peat winner of the EYG Stan Lee Cameo of the Year Award… and with a few more cameos in the can, filmed before he passed away, could he be awarded with number four next year as well?

The top 15 matches made my list, and the number of NXT matches from Takeover should tell you something about the state of the big leagues right now.

Honorable mentions:  Three matches I had to drop off to fit some others on the list.  Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet (NXT Takeover Chicago), Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar (Survivor Series), Ricochet vs. Adam Cole for North American Championship (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV)

#15.  Seth Rollins vs. The Miz (Backlash).  Had to have a Seth Rollins match on the list. Thought about Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth, but saw that too many times.

#14.  Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. HHH and Stephanie McMahon (Wrestlemania 34).  Ronda showed that she really belonged in the spot the WWE put her in.  Bets match at Wrestlemania this year.

#13.  6-Man Ladder Match for North American Championship won by Adam Cole (NXT Takeover: New Orleans).  This was an awe-inspiring match with some of the bests in NXT.

#12.  Becky Lynch vs, Charlotte (Evolution).  Last Woman Standing.  At the all female PPV (first ever!) the WWE went all in behind the Lasskicker and had Becky Lynch, to the joy of the crowd, go over Charlotte Flair.  Thus, they set up a rivalry for years to come.

#11. War Games II (NXT Takeover: War Games II).  Featuring the Undisputed Era against Pete Dunne, Ricochet and the War Raiders.  Amazing spot fest.  Great story.

#10.  Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (TLC).  The New Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles put together a classic at TLC yesterday which was hard hitting, had amazing storytelling and wrestling.

#9.  Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black.  Get ready for a run of Johnny Wrestling matches.  His big heel run started because he jumped Black.  This match was great.

#8.  Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte (Survivor Series).  This was brutal.  Charlotte went crazy at the end and savaged Ronda with a kendo stick (and had the crowd cheering her for it).  This showed how great these women are.

#7.  Tommasso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream.  Tommasso showed his skills even without Gargano in a match.  This was perhaps the Velveteen Dream’s best match.

#6.  Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Asuka, TLC match (TLC).  Last night’s best match saw Asuka win the Smackdown Women’s Championship in a devastatingly rough and brutal macth with ladders, chairs and tables.

#5.  Johnny Gargano vs. Tommasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV).  Last Man Standing.  The ending knocked down the match just a tick for me, but even with this being the third time we saw these two wrestle, this was amazing.

#4.  Undisputed ERA vs. Mustache Mountain (NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV).  A match that you never thought could wind up this high is the best tag team match of the year.

#3.  Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas (NXT Takeover: Philadelphia).  Almas has not translated his success to Smackdown yet, but this match showed that he was real.  He battled Gargano in an amazing match.

#2.  Johnny Gargano vs. Tommasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover: Chicago).  Chicago Street Fight.  Ciampa took this victory over his former partner in a brutal and amazing match.

#1.  Johnny Gargano vs. Tommasso Ciampa (NXT Takeover:  New Orleans).  Unsanctioned.  Gargano won this match and it was an emotional roller coaster.  In a year where Gargano vs. Ciampa happened three times, this one was the highlight.

2018 was not the best year in the world of the WWE.  In fact, the shows we slipping in quality each week, but it seemed as if the WWE would rebound enough to provide top entertainment.  The consistency was a problem.  Here then is a bunch of the awards for the WWE.

Wrestler of the Year:  Tommasso Ciampa.

Ciampa was a huge star in NXT this year.  His efforts in the brand were out of this world.  He finished the season as the best heel, one of the best performers and a superstar in the ring.

He has been so amazing in 2018, Tommasso drove the story all year long.  Few wrestlers have the heat that Ciampa has and he is just tremendous.  I hope they never take him off NXT because the WWE main rosters would waste this guy’s talent like so many other stars.  Runners-Up:  Johnny Gargano, A.J. Styles, Roman Reigns, Daniel Bryan, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe

Performer of the Year.  Johnny Gargano.  Johnny Wrestling’s name is all over the top 15 matches of the year list as few performers have had a better string of matches as Johnny Gargano has had.  Here is another man who should never leave NXT.  The RAW and Smackdown divisions do not deserve Gargano and they have no idea on how to use him.  In NXT, he is the best performer in all of WWE.  Runners-Up: A.J. Styles, Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rosuey, Daniel Bryan, Velveteen Dream

Team of the Year:  The Bar.  Sheamus and Cesaro won the triple threat match last night at TLC and, with that, became the Team of the Year.  These two men have done an amazing job of working together and becoming more than the sum of their parts.  Cesaro is unbelievably talented and Sheamus plays off him as well as anyone.  They can create such storytelling.  Runners-Up:  The Usos, New Day, AoP, Mustache Mountain, Brey Wyatt and Matt Hardy, The B Team.

Woman of the Year:  (TIE):  Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch.  I could not make a choice between these two.  Ronda was on her way to this award because she has come into WWE and shown an unbelievable ability to become a wrestler.  She is a natural.  Then, Becky Lynch became “The Man” and organically made the fans embrace her like no other.  Lynch has a chance to be the next Stone Cold Steve Austin.  These two are heading for a showdown at Wrestlemania, possibly. Runners-Up:  Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Asuka, Natalya

Cruiserweight of the Year:  Cedric Alexander.  Cedric had a great CW championship reign but the chase for the title was even more strong.  Alexander is the star in the division. Runners-Up:  Buddy Murphy, Mustafa Ali.

Manager of the Year: Paul Heyman.  Or I guess he is an advocate.  Paul Heyman is the greatest.  I love Heyman so much. He is given the job of promoting Brock Lesnar matches with his words because Lesnar does not get to appear that much.  And Heyman is brilliant in his work.  Runners-Up:  Drake Maverick, Paul Ellering.

Face of the Year:  A.J. Styles.  He was WWE champion for a long time and he fought the good fight all year long.  Styles fought the evil Samoa Joe, the New Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura and took plenty of shots to the family jewels.  AJ has become one of the greatest superstars in wrestling.  Runners-Up:  Seth Rollins, Johnny Gargano, Ronda Rousey, The New Day, Roman Reigns.

Heel of the Year:  Tommasso Ciampa.  Easy.  Ciampa might be the best heel in the world of wrestling.  He is just hated in NXT.  He is amazing to watch and you want to cheer for him, but you do not.  You want to see Ciampa get his butt kicked but he always gets away.  Ciampa is amazing.  Runners-Up:  Samoa Joe, Becky Lynch, The New Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, The Miz.

Best Heel Turn:  The New Daniel Bryan.  Who saw the turn of one of the most popular stars from the last several years coming?  Not only is Bryan one of the greatest faces of the last decade, he made a triumphant return to the ring after being told that he could not do it again.  So when he kicked AJ Styles in the balls, the world gasped.  Then, he shows us how a villainous heel should be played.  Runners-Up:  Dolph Ziggler, Johnny Gargano, Dean Ambrose.

Worst Heel Turn:  Bayley/Sasha Banks.  The problem here was that they weren’t sure what to do. This turn started and stopped multiple times.  Plus, no one was sure exactly who turned on the other.  Who was supposed to be the heel?  It was discarded almost immediately.  Runners-Up:  Becky Lynch, Braun Strowman, The Big Show

Rookie of the Year:  Ronda Rousey.  The easiest choice on this list.  Ronda has arrived in the WWE and has exceeded all expectations.  Her mike skills were weaker when she started, but even they have been getting better.  Her in-ring ability has been shocking at how good they are.  She is the most believable performer in the WWE.

PPV of the Year:  NXT Takeover: War Games II.  Only five matches but three of them are match of the year consideration.  Runners-Up:  All of the Takeovers.

Worst PPV:  Crown Jewel.  Nuff said about this Saudi Arabian travesty.

Biggest Waste of Talent:  Bobby Roode.  He went from the NXT champion as a heel to a face on Smackdown and that was a huge mistake.  They turned him face because the crowd loved his theme song.

Best Announcer:  Mauro Ranallo.  Mama Mia!  The NXT shows are so much better because of Mauro’s calls.

Best Color Commentator:  Corey Graves.  Graves is a lot of fun and very intelligent.

Saddest Moment:  Roman Reigns.  Reigns announcing his fight with leukemia returned was one of the saddest and more real moments of the year.

Happiest Moment:  Daniel Bryan.  When Bryan came back and announced that he was cleared to wrestle again, the world celebrated.

Most Annoying:  Lio Rush.  “Lashley” “Lashley” “Lashley”-  what else could be more annoying?

Next Big Thing:  Pete Dunne.  The WWE United Kingdom Champion is a young man who has a huge future ahead of him.

Most Over:  Becky Lynch.  More popular than any WWE star right now.  Becky could not be more over than she is right now.

Breakout Star of the Year: Becky Lynch.  She is the future of the WWE.  She organically came through the fans.

2019 Future Breakout: Drew McIntyre.  I think McIntyre is a World Champion in 2019.  Mark it down.

Next up:  Top 15 Matches of the Year

More television…

Best Return:  Nathan Fillion.  Love the fact that Fillion is back on TV with The Rookie.  He is charming and lovable.  Runner-Up:  Alec Baldwin,

Show that fell flat:  Murphy Brown.  I was excited about this return because I always enjoyed Murphy Brown.  I watched the pilot but could not get into the show.  I did not see any other episode.  Runners-Up:  The Conners, Roseanne, Thirteen Reasons Why

Best Reality Show:  My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.  The interview show was always interesting with one guest each episode.

Most Improved Show:  Iron Fist.  Yes, this was still not great and was cancelled, but season two was considerably better than season one.

Best Animated:  Big Mouth.  Netflix’s crude animated comedy was funny and shocking all at the same time.

Gone Too Soon:  American Vandal.  I loved season two.  I feel like it really improved as a story telling show.  Why can we not get a season three?  Runners-Up:  Daredevil, Luke Cage

Best Last Night host:  Stephen Colbert.  No one has benefited professionally with Donald Trump as President as much as Stephen Colbert.  He really found his footing in this year.  Runners-Up:  Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden.

Best Musical Episode:  “Chapter 31: A Night to Remember” Riverdale.  This one caught me off guard as I did not know it was coming.  Songs were surprisingly catchy as they did Carrie: The Musical.  Runner-Up: General Hospital, The Nurse’s Ball 

Best Show I Do Not watch:  Atlanta.  Everyone raves about this one.  I like Donald Glover.  I just do not watch it.  Runners-Up:  The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, This is Us, The Good Doctor.  

Worst Return:  Roseanne.  I watched this show when it first came back and there was just something that was missing.  Then, of course, Roseanne Barr went crazy.

Worst Decision:  Netflix cancels Daredevil, American Vandal, Luke Cage, Iron Fist etc.  Of course.

Favorite Online TV Talker:  Roxy Striar.  Roxy is currently on the Collider Live Show and she is fantastic.  Her One on One with Kristian Harloff is a must see. Runners-Up:  Josh Macuga, Kristian Harloff.

I tried, but….:  Manifest.  I thought it sounded like a nice LOST type show but I was bored in episode number one so it lost that opportunity.

Biggest Drop:  Scandal.  I used to love this show but, as it ended, I just wanted it to be over.

Versus:  Joy vs. Megan.  On the View, these two polar opposites in the world of politics, when Joy and Megan go at it, it is must see TV on the View.

Best Talk Show Host:  Kristian Harloff.  Kristian has become a fantastic interviewer with his One on One show and with Collider Live.

Best TV Game Show:  Match Game.  Alec Baldwin as the host has made this a great time every week.

Best Supporting Actor

Network

Runners-Up:  Donal Logue (Gotham), Robin Taylor (Gotham), George Newbern (Scandal), Kai Penn (Designated Survivor), Jeff Perry (Scandal)

Winner:  Iain De Caestecker (Agents of SHIELD)

Iain got to play the whole range of emotions during the year.

Streaming

Runners-Up:  Wilson Bethel (Daredevil), Jackie Earle Haley (The Tick), Chris Lowell (GLOW), Nathan Fillion (Santa Clarita Diet), Bill Skarsgard (Castle Rock)

Winner:  Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil)

D’Onofrio is one of the best Marvel villains in any film/TV project.

Cable

Runners-Up:  Roy Santiago (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Lee Majors (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Rhenzy Feliz (Runaways), Chandler Riggs (Walking Dead)

Winner:  J.D. Evermore (Cloak & Dagger)

One of the biggest jerks on Cloak & Dagger

Best Supporting Actress

Network

Runners-Up:  Morena Baccaria (Gotham), Elizabeth Henstridge (Agents of SHIELD), Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale)

Winner:  Cicely Tyson (How to Get Away with Murder)

Powerful performance as Viola Davis’s mother.

Streaming

Runners-Up:  Liv Hewson (Santa Clarita Diet), Sissy Spacek (Castle Rock), Kia Stevens (GLOW), Simone Missick (Luke Cage)

Winner:  Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage).

Black Mariah is so bad ass in Luke Cage

Cable

Runners-Up:  Lyrica Okamo (Runaways), Ariela Barer (Runaways)

Winner:  Lucy Lawless (Ash vs. Evil Dead)

Back being bad.

Best Actor

Network

Runners-Up:  Clark Gregg (Agents of Shield), David Duchovny (X-Files), Kiefer Sutherland (Designated Survivor), Cole Sprouse (Riverdale)

Winner:  Nathan Fillion (The Rookie)

Nathan Fillion’s return has been short so far, but his charisma has been welcomed.

Streaming

Runner’s Up:  Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Marc Maron (GLOW), Timothy Olyphant (Santa Clarita Diet), Andre Holland (Castle Rock)

Winner:  Peter Serafinowicz (The Tick)

He had big shoes to fill and Peter Serafinowicz fills them admirably.

Cable

Runners-Up:  Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), Aubrey Joseph (Cloak & Dagger), Donald Glover (Atlanta)

Winner:  Bruce Campbell (Ash vs. Evil Dead)

Best Actress

Network

Runners-Up:  Chloe Bennett (Agents of SHIELD), Ming-Na Wen (Agents of SHIELD), Maggie Q (Designated Survivor), Lili Reinhart (Riverdale), Camila Mendes (Riverdale), Kerry Washington (Scandal)

Winner:  Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder)

Viola always brings the power.

Streaming

Runners-Up:  Alison Brie (GLOW), Betty Gilpin (GLOW), Robin Wright (House of Cards), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones)

Winner:  Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet)

Drew is hilarious as the zombie wife.

Cable

Runners-Up: Olivia Holt (Cloak & Dagger), Melissa McBride (Walking Dead), Lauren Cohen (Walking Dead), Dana DeLorenzo (Ash vs Evil Dead)

Winner:  Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead)

Michonne faced a ton of problems losing Rick and Carl.

Woman power!

In honor of General Hospital’s super spy Anna Devane, this award goes to the toughest, strongest and smartest females in the world of pop culture.  There was a time that this would have been a difficult award to field, but now I can easily fill a top ten list and probably go for even more.

I was in love with Anna Devane when I was young.  She was so strong, she could take anyone down, and that British accent…Oh yeah!

So to honor my GH crush, I named this award after her.

Previous winners:  Rey (Star Wars), Mockingbird (Marvel Comics), Wonder Woman (DCEU)

#10-2

#10.  Spider-Gwen.  She has had a big year and she is appearing in Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse.

#9.  Ms. Marvel (Marvel Comics).  Kamala Khan is on the verge of becoming huge.  In a few years, she may be way up this list.

#8.  Wasp (Ant Man & the Wasp).  Evangeline Lilly kicks some serious butt in the Ant Man & the Wasp film this year and I love her from her days as Kate.

#7.  Joy Behar (The View).  With Donald Trump in the Oval Office and Megan McCain at the table, Joy has to be her strong self to have her opinion heard.

#6.  Emily Blunt from A Quiet Place.  For God’s sake, she gave birth with aliens who respond to noise in her house.  She deserves her place here.  Her character’s name was Evelyn Abbott.

#5.  Tandy Bowen (Dagger).  Tandy in Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger is a great character and she carried herself with amazing dominance.

#4.  Elastigirl (Incredibles 2)  Elastigirl takes front and center in the world of super heroes trying to help bring them from the shadows.

#3. Shuri (Black Panther).  Not really “kick ass” but certainly one of the best female characters of the year.  Perhaps the smartest person in the MCU.

#2.  Okoye (Black Panther).  The head of the Dora Milaje, Danai Gurira was perfect in the Black Panther movie and claims her place in the MCU

And the winners of the Anna Devane Kick Ass Female of the Year is….

#1.  The Shirewolves (Movie Trivia Schmoedown).  “Classy” Clarke Wolfe and Rachel “The Crusher” Cushing, the current Schmoedown Team Champions.  The first female champs of the Schmoedown, Clarke and Rachel are amazing performers and remarkably powerful trivia contestants.