|
By Dr. Rodney
Eastgaven
*Webmaster's Note:
The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those
of the rest of the ECPW Website staff, it's wrestlers or
fans. We remind you that there are no nominations for
an award and fans are invited to vote for whomever they like
in any categories they like.
Well as we gather
around the Christmas Trees/Chanukah Bushes/Kwanzaa Shrubs
and enjoy our Holidays, it gives us time to reflect on the
year that has come and gone, and we here are ECPW at no
exception. It truly was a whirlwind year for many
involved. We saw plenty of new faces, said goodbye to some
old ones, and new and exciting changes took – and still are
– taking place. For the purpose of this article I will
review the year based on each of the categories for our
upcoming 2009 ECPW AWARDS DINNER: Saturday January 23rd
2010 at the VFW in Saddle Brook, NJ. Incidentally, if you
have never attended our annual award dinner before, please
do yourself a favor and come this year, all you can eat, all
you can drink, and hang out with your favorite ECPW
Superstars and Ryan Roxbury.
An interesting
element this year is that 2009 is the first full year of our
Territory System featuring:
ECPW EMPIRE STATE – which saw shows in Binghamton,
Cortland, and Elmira, New York – with hot matches and even
hotter crowds.
ECPW FIVE BOROS
– which saw matches all throughout Brooklyn and Staten
Island, which featured some of the largest crowds (in terms
of number of attendees) this year.
ECPW KEYSTONE
– which saw monthly shows in McAdoo, PA and their second
annual CAGED FURY Super Show in August. Keystone featured
some of the largest crowds (in terms of weight) this year.
PROVING GROUND
– A new addition this past May, which is not geographically
specific, but rather a showcase for new and upcoming
talent from the ECPW Training Schools, or “audition space”
for wrestlers joining ECPW from other wrestling
organizations; along with appearances by other ECPW
Adrenaline TV Stars.
|
 |
ROOKIE
OF THE YEAR
Last Year’s Winner: Gunner Trash
Arguably the
tightest race of both this year and last year. Prince
Akkanatan caused quite a scene last year losing this
award to his blue-collar rival. This year I feel some
newcomers are standing slightly taller than the rest of
their rookie class of 09. JUSTIN BLACKWELL
stands head-and-shoulders above the others – quite
literally – and at 6’5” 450lbs we haven’t seen anything
quite like Blackwell come down the pike in quite some
time. Picking up a reign as ECPW Keystone champion,
albeit for about an hour, is still impressive for any
rookie – regardless of their size. FRANKIE FLOW,
on the other hand, is providing fans with some of the
most entertaining matches of the year, literally pouring
his blood, sweat and tears all over ECPW. With a
never-say-die spirit and a physique to match, he can
give the big man from West Virginia a run for his
money. Beyond those two, young NICK TALENT has
caught my eye, but having debuted in October can his
small body of work make up in quality what it lacks in
quantity? A host of newcomers have come out of our new
ECPW-EMPIRE STATE School in Binghamton, New York – chief
among them is HYBRID SEAN CARR, who many are
calling the finest natural rookie of the bunch. He has
not done much work outside of the ECPW Empire State
Territory, but if this award were for pure wrestling
ability – it would be a crime to not give it to Carr.
Other notable debuts this year include: Big Ben
Cromwell, Ghetto Brown, and Little Daddy C.
|
MATCH OF THE
YEAR:
Last Year’s Winner: The Prison Yard Match: Red Hot Russ &
Johnny Thundar def. The Repeat Offenders for the ECPW Tag
Team Titles 6/14/08 Morristown, NJ
A prestigious
award, to say the least, which has been claimed by RED
HOT RUSS for the past six years, and he has not lost a
step as many of his matches were certainly “match of the
night” but can they be match of the year. Some of Russ’s
matches from 2009 with the likes of Danny Inferno, CK
Kross, and Little Tony Moose were all very skilled and
entertaining. Speaking of CK Kross, he and Nick Napoleon
engaged in an Iron Man Match just a few weeks ago,
which was a sight to behold and had the Cortland, NY fans on
their feet for nearly a half an hour. The unique
BROOKLYN BRAWL match from this past June had a lot
riding on it and a historic finish. However, nothing can
add to the prestige of a match like a title being at stake
and my two nominees here did just that; JAKE SAINT vs.
JASON THE SUICIDE KING – Either the Last Man Standing
Match of The Caged Fury Match (take your pick) or
ANDREW ANDERSON vs. DANNY INFERNO which saw Anderson
reclaim the gold in a classic battle, one of the most
grueling battles of the year.
|
SHOW OF
THE YEAR
Last Year’s Winner: Brooklyn Beatdown II 10/18/08 St.
Patrick’s Brooklyn, NY
Always one of
the toughest choices to make every year as there are
many great shows in East Coast Pro-Wrestling, in all the
different territories; so rather than make a pick here
are, in no particular order, my top 5 ECPW Shows of the
year – your mileage may vary:
ECPW at
The Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame 5/15/09 Amsterdam, NY
– Every year ECPW is proud that out of all the
independent promotions out there, we are the ones chosen
by the PWHF to host this prestigious event, and this
year we did not disappoint with star power featuring the
likes of Brutus Beefcake, Jimmy Snuka, Volcano Mike, The
Patriot, Tito Santana and a host of others. Plus a
showdown between hometown boy and ECPW Champion, Danny
Inferno.
ECPW
Five-Boro’s Brooklyn Brawl 6/6/09 Brooklyn, NY –
In the same building as last year’s Show of the Year,
known for having a great atmosphere and great fans –
featured a special Brooklyn Brawl match, for the Five-Boros
title, ending in an unprecedented four-way draw.
ECPW
Keystone Caged Fury 2 8/16/09 West Hazelton, PA
– with heated feuds, many of which were a year in the
making, this one was highly anticipated to say the
least. A Blindfold match, Tag Team Street Fight, and
topping it off with The BRUTAL Caged Fury Match between
Saint and Suicide King, this one is unquestionably a
contender.
ECPW at
Maywood Avenue School 10/24/09 Maywood, NJ – a
raucous packed house witnessed the first showdown
between Anderson and Coleman in years as well as Rikishi
stink-facing Prince Akkanatan en route to victory with
Grandmaster Sexay against The Prince & The Peacemaker.
ECPW
Empire State At The American Legion – There were
four shows there this year – take your pick – they were
all wild, crazy and awesome!
|
LAST
YEAR'S SHOW OF THE YEAR
ON DVD |
MOST IMPROVED
WRESTLER
Last Year’s Winner: Timothy Plazma
The importance of
this award cannot be overstated. BROLLY won it in
2008 and he saw the light and broke away from Doug DeVito in
2009. TIMOTHY PLAZMA won it last January and he is
the current ECPW Light Heavyweight Champion. With wrestlers
constantly improving themselves at the ECPW Schools and
elsewhere it will be another close call. THE PEACEMAKER,
now under the guidance of Doug DeVito, may have finally just
begun to comprehend his bigness in the squared circle.
GUNNER TRASH, last year’s rookie of the year, has only
gotten more intense, begging the question: just how intense
can one guy get? Empire State’s fiery underdog, ANARCHY,
now has more experience under his belt and has stood
toe-to-toe with the likes of IB Greene, Dave The Wave, and
Peacemaker, proving he can hang with the big boys. My eye
however gravitates toward the still mysterious, COBRA.
The long-time Junior-division champion is now under the
tutelage of Prince Akkanatan, and though I will argue that
Cobra has always been a better “wrestler” than the Prince,
with Akkanatan passing on his “win-at-all-costs” mindset to
the young warrior there may be no stopping Cobra in 2010.
|
 |
MANAGER
OF THE YEAR
Last Year’s Winner: Doug DeVito
Last year
manager of the year was a no-brainer, and DOUG DEVITO
took it to the surprise of no one. Last year THE
CREEPER concentrated on his in-ring escapades, Lance
Profit was banished from ECPW mid-year, and Jade took
some time off to attend to family matters. This year,
The Creeper is the manager of the Heavyweight Champion,
DeVito’s former charge. But DeVito will not just lay
back and take it (not from the Creeper anyway) his
charges have been relentless in their pursuit of
Anderson’s gold for most of the year, and his Repeat
Offenders are now two-time Tag Team Champions. It
should be a neck-and-neck race for those two, but don’t
count out JADE who has brought the Main Event
Hustlas to prominence in ECPW Keystone, and GENERAL
BOBBY LEE WALKER who would get my pick for “Best New
manager” if such an award existed; anyone who can
control a monster like Justin Blackwell is clearly doing
something right. Mike Trash and Pharaoh have also had
good showings this year as well.
|
TAG TEAM OF
THE YEAR
Last Year’s Winner: The Repeat Offenders
Similar to DeVito
as manager of the year, last year this award, too was a
no-brainer – mainly because there really weren’t many other
active tag teams to speak of in 2008. That has changed this
past year with the return of Slugga & Sean Martin unifying
themselves as THE ISLAND WARRIORS, and the rise to
prominence of THE MAIN EVENT HUSTLAS. The team I
have had my eye on for most of the year, however, had to be
THE OWENS BROTHERS, who quietly returned to ECPW in
late 2008, unsuccessfully dethroning Red Hot Russ & Johnny
Thundar, but stayed just as vicious and dangerous proving it
was no accident that they are former two-time tag team
champions. Even as singles competitors both Jay and Tre
made nearly-successful attempts to dethrone TV Champion,
Jersey Devil. However, you can’t argue with gold – and that
gold is with the REPEAT OFFENDERS now – which can
make for YET ANOTHER year of those convicts walking out with
another Tag Team of The Year award.
|
MOST
HATED WRESTLER
Last Year’s Winner: Prince Akkanatan
Make no mistake
that PRINCE AKKANATAN is just as hated in 2009 as
he was in 2008, and will yet be hated in 2010 – I can’t
foresee that changing unless he’s visit by the Spirits
of Awards Dinners Past, Present and Future. The fans
despise Akkanatan, and he’s not too fond of them either,
but there are plenty of other folks out there getting
the ire of our ECPW fans all over. JUSTIN BLACKWELL
and WILLIAM ALEXANDER SAMUEL PALMER are two
relative newcomers who are getting showered with boos
regularly – almost as if following in the Prince’s
pointy footsteps. This year however, this award was
simply not about telling fans to “shut up” or foreign
objects behind a referee’s back – it would normally be,
but this year a major event took place. Over the
summer, JEFF COLEMAN turned his back on his fans
and on his friends. He put The Creeper in the hospital
en route to Andrew Anderson’s championship, a belt, he
constantly reminds us, he never lost. According to “The
Future” the fans forgot about him while he was out
injured for the beginning of the year – well, Mr.
Coleman, I doubt the fans will forget about you when it
comes time for them to cast their vote for most hated
superstar of 2009.
|
 |
MOST POPULAR
WRESTLER
Last Year’s Winner: Andrew Anderson
Wrestling fans are
a very peculiar species indeed. It is interesting how just
a few years ago ANDREW ANDERSON had walked away,
proudly, with “Most Hated Wrestler” honors and was voted
“Most Popular Wrestler” last year and may have a good chance
at winning it once again this year. CK KROSS, RED HOT
RUSS, THE JERSEY DEVIL, & NICK NAPOLEON are all
quite the crowd favorites as well, and anyone of them can be
the sleeper pick for this award. BROLLY's change of
heart has won him many fans, particularly in ECPW Empire
State. However, being in attendance at nearly every
ECPW show this year, I must say however, that no entrance
seems to ignite a crowd like the intensity of one, GUNNER
TRASH, and likewise the peculiar new superstar, THE
MERENGUE WARRIOR has them dancing in the aisles night
after night. I would say the race for this award is really
between those two.
|
 |
FEUD OF
THE YEAR
Last Year’s Winner: Donnie Johnson vs. Jersey
Devil
You’d think
with all the top-tier talent here in ECPW everything
would be great – what’s not to like? The answer for the
ECPW Wrestlers is – each other. Some matches go beyond
simple athletic contests that they become personal. It
happens all the time, and apparently we can’t all just
get along, but some of 2009’s greatest rivalries
included the ever-ongoing battles of KAGE vs. IB
GREENE, in terms of longevity, that feud would take
it any day, as those two have battled all over the
place, many times all over the respective building,
spilling each others blood trading the ECPW Empire State
title back and forth. JAKE SAINT vs. JASON THE
SUCIDIE KING almost mirrors Kage and IB’s feud,
though not quite it longstanding, it has made up for it
in brutality. FRANKIE FLOW and W.A.S.P. have
engaged in some note-worthy battle, even getting
Frankie’s son involved in the action, leading to a
dangerous street fight – proving that not all feuds are
about gold. In terms of the highest stakes, however the
recently renewed rivalry of JEFF COLEMAN vs. ANDREW
ANDERSON has the biggest gold factor, and the most
history, however a lot of that history may yet be
written in 2010.
|
WRESTLER OF
THE YEAR
Last Year’s Winner: Dan De Man
In recent years the
granddaddy of ‘em all typically goes to the guy who held the
big belt for the majority of the year, and with a more/less
even split between ANDREW ANDERSON and DANNY
INFERNO, either man would be a more than worthy choice
to be the 2009 Wrestler of the year. It may also be the
year of the Devil however, as THE JERSEY DEVIL has
had yet another entire year (that’s 365 days) as ECPW
Television Champion, and that isn’t something that happens
to everyone and it certainly doesn’t happen by accident. He
was however not able to best Inferno earlier in the year for
the Heavyweight title. This is where it will be fun to see
how “regional votes” from the territories come into play as
KAGE, JASON THE SUCIDIE KING or TONY BIELLA could
walk away with the award due to their high regard in their
respective areas, but will they be a match for Anderson?
Come to the awards dinner on January 23rd and
find out!
      
EMAIL YOUR VOTES TODAY!
PLEASE VOTE ON THESE
CATEGORIES:
2009 ECPW WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
MATCH OF THE YEAR
ECPW EVENT OF THE YEAR
MOST HATED WRESTLER
MOST POPULAR WRESTLER
FEUD OF THE YEAR
MOST IMPROVED WRESTLER
2009 SHOWS:
|
1/24 Brooklyn,
NY
1/30 Paramus,
NJ
2/7 McAdoo, PA
2/21
Binghamton, NY
2/22 Staten
Island, NY
3/6 Greenwood
Lake, NY
3/13 Maywood,
NJ
3/21 Cortland,
NY
3/28
Ridgefield, NJ
4/2
Hackettstown, NJ
4/3 Paramus, NJ
|
4/4 West Nyack,
NY
4/24 West
Orange, NJ
5/2 Wallington,
NJ
5/8 Binghamton,
NY
5/9 McAdoo, PA
5/15 Amsterdam,
NY
5/22 Paramus,
NJ
5/30 Elmira, NY
6/5 Ridgefield,
NJ
6/6 Brooklyn,
NY
6/13
Wallington, NJ
6/20 McAdoo, PA
|
6/26 Paramus,
NJ
7/8 Cortland,
NY
7/11 McAdoo, PA
7/16
Wallington, NJ
7/18
Binghamton, NY
7/24 Paramus,
NJ
8/4 Ridgefield,
NJ
8/14 Paramus,
NJ
8/15 West
Hazelton, PA
8/20
Wallington, NJ
9/12
Wallington, NJ
9/18
Binghamton, NY
9/19 McAdoo, PA
|
9/25 Paramus,
NJ
10/10 McAdoo,
PA
10/17 Claymont,
DE
10/23 Brooklyn,
NY
10/24 Maywood,
NJ
10/30 Paramus,
NJ
11/6
Wallington, NJ
11/7 McAdoo, PA
11/20 Paramus,
NJ
11/21 Brooklyn,
NY
12/4
Binghamton, NY
12/5 Cortland,
NY
12/12 McAdoo,
PA
12/18 Paramus,
NJ
|
|
