Cageside Seats Year-End Awards: CM Punk wins 'Wrestler of the Year'

CM Punk held the WWE championship for the entirety of 2012. That's a remarkable feat, not of legitimate competition, of course, but of sustained success in convincing Vince McMahon he's worthy of such a run.

Punk managed to navigate 365 consecutive days (it's actually longer but we're only taking into account 2012 here) without the powers that be getting antsy for a big show and doing a title switch. Even through Monday Night Raw hitting various low rating points throughout the year, "The Straight Edge Superstar" soldiered on with the belt around his waist.

He wasn't always the main event; in fact, he was rarely wrestling last on pay-per-view (PPV) cards, but he consistently put on some of the best matches and worked memorable feuds with the likes of Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, John Laurinaitis and, to an extent, John Cena.

Put simply, CM Punk was the "Wrestler of the Year."

That's how you voted, at least. Here are the full results from our poll:

1. CM Punk -- 98 votes
2. Daniel Bryan -- 41 votes
3. Bobby Roode -- 10 votes
4. Austin Aries -- 6 votes
5. Ryback -- 3 votes
6. Big Show -- 2 votes
7. Sheamus -- 2 votes
8. Bully Ray -- 1 vote
9. Jeff Hardy -- 1 vote
10. John Cena -- 1 vote