Country United States | First awarded 1986 | |
Presented by WWE
Academy of Wrestling Arts and Sciences (kayfabe) | ||
The Slammy Awards was a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, were given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers. There were twelve editions of the concept, with the first two iterations airing in 1986 and 1987, respectively. After a seven-year hiatus, the awards returned in 1994 on a special edition of WWF Mania. The concept resumed in 1996 and 1997 (in a banquet-like format). The concept endured another long hiatus until its subsequent return in 2008 by WWE (in a format interlaced with regular matches on a live television arena show). The recipients of the awards received a statuette that depicted one wrestler holding another over his head. 2016 was the first year since 2007 to not have a Slammy Awards, for unknown reasons.
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1986 Slammy Awards
The first edition of the Slammy Awards took place on March 1, 1986 from the Civic Center in Baltimore, after a live wrestling event. It aired live on MTV. The wrestling event aired later in the month on Prime Time Wrestling. Theas created by the Academy of Wrestling Arts and Sciences. Martha Quinn was the guest interviewer.
1987 Slammy Awards
The second edition of the Slammy Awards (referred to in commercials and on the air as the 37th annual Slammy Awards) took place on December 16, 1987 from Caesars Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It aired in syndication on December 19, 1987. The show did an impressive 6.2 national rating and 15 share, finishing second in its time-slot only to Saturday Night Live.
This ceremony is perhaps best remembered for a musical number performed by WWF owner Vince McMahon, singing the song "Stand Back". The video of McMahon (whose on-air role at the time was strictly as an announcer) singing "Stand Back" would resurface on the May 28, 2001 episode of WWF Raw is War when Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit played the video to humiliate McMahon, who by then had long moved out of his announcing role and into his Mr. McMahon persona on TV; "Stand Back" has since resurfaced several times over the years as a running gag between McMahon and any face wrestler he is feuding with at that particular time, and was included on the 2006 McMahon DVD.
Two awards presentations were used to advance current feuds. The "Woman of the Year," presented by The Honky Tonk Man, was used primarily to allow Honky to make advances toward Miss Elizabeth and egg on her protégé, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, with whom he was feuding. Following the "Best Dressed" award, which was won by "King" Harley Race, a wild backstage brawl broke out between Race and award presenter "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan; the brawl eventually reached the main stage, interrupting another award presentation, before Gorilla Monsoon stepped in to separate the two.
In December 2014, this episode was uploaded to the WWE Network in the "Slammy Awards" section.
1994 Slammy Awards
Dormant for years, the Slammy Awards returned on a special edition of WWF Mania which aired on December 31, 1994. Todd Pettengill and Stephanie Wiand presented the awards from the WWF television studios. In December 2014, this episode was uploaded to the WWE Network in the "Slammy Awards" section.
1996 Slammy Awards
The fourth edition of the Slammy Awards took place on March 30, 1996 from the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California. It aired live on USA Network.
1997 Slammy Awards
The fifth edition of the Slammy Awards took place on March 21, 1997 from the Westin Hotel in Chicago. It aired live on USA Network.
Top 10 Slammy Award Moments (2008)
Todd Grisham hosted a feature on WWE.com on February 23, showcasing the Slammy Awards' Top 10 moments.
- WWF Superstars performing "If You Only Knew" in 1987.
- Owen Hart accepting his second Slammy award in 1997 (one he was not nominated for), and then getting into a confrontation with Vader.
- Bret Hart winning the award for Best Video in 1996.
- Freddie Blassie winning the Lifetime Achievement award in 1996.
- Vince McMahon performing "Stand Back" in 1987.
- Steve Austin winning the Freedom of Speech award in 1997.
- Shawn Michaels promising a show-stealing WrestleMania XII entrance in 1996 – he came to the ring from the rafters on a zip-wire.
- Todd Pettengill's opening number in 1996.
- Jim Duggan and Harley Race's brawl throughout the 1987 awards.
- WWF Superstars performing "Land of a Thousand Dances" in 1986, with Roddy Piper winning the award for the best wrestler in the video.
2008 Slammy Awards
The Slammy Awards were brought back in 2008 as part of a strategy to air more "special episodes" of WWE Raw and revive the brand as well as boost ratings. WWE.com announced some of the nominees for the awards on December 2. The event took place on December 8 from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
2009 Slammy Awards
The event took place on December 14 from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was hosted by Dennis Miller.
2010 Slammy Awards
The event took place on December 13, 2010 from the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans.
Red ██ and "Raw" indicates a Raw diva and blue ██ and "SD" indicates a SmackDown diva.
2011 Slammy Awards
The event took place on December 12, 2011 from the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia.
2012 Slammy Awards
The event took place on December 17, 2012 from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
2013 Slammy Awards
This event took place on December 9, 2013 from the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington and was hosted by WWE Hall of Famers Booker T and Jerry Lawler.
2014 Slammy Awards
This event took place on December 8, 2014 from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina and was hosted by Seth Green.
2015 Slammy Awards
This event took place on December 21, 2015 from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.