Award Nominations

So The Airplane Spin call for award nominations went out and the Mofo decided to post his nominations here. He’ll probably post his national nominations or maybe not. The Mofo’s picks for the winners will come later.

Breakout Star of the Year:

CA Elliott and Assault and Battery

CA Elliott: The Mofo has worked with CA longer than most guys having hung around with him in KYDA and VCW and now pushed hard to get him as part of Fusion. The Mofo has always really liked CA as a person, but for a long time was not a fan of CA as a worker. The Mofo has told CA that many times. CA is a great athlete and can do any move he wants, but that for a long time that was his greatest asset and his biggest problem. Over the last several months, The Mofo has seen CA start to get it and start to understand that the key to getting over isn’t doing the most moves. He’s done a good job of working on his character and working to get the crowd involved in his matches. His push in VCW and getting to work with better guys has certainly helped as has the focused push in Fusion, but CA has shown that he was ready for the spot in both cases.

Assault and Battery: The best tag teams cover for each other’s weaknesses. Victor Griff is the worker and Carlos is the showman. That’s not to say Griff doesn’t have a character because the guy is doing some quality heeling every time out and Carlos’s ringwork is getting better. These guys have been tag champs in two companies in the state this year and people can claim that belts don’t mean anything, but if you put your belts on someone you don’t think it worthy of it then you’re an idiot. A&B are getting belts because they’ve earned them.

Most Hated Heel:

Mark Bravura and QSic

Mark Bravura: People hate the Mofo. GXW. VCW. Fusion. People in Virginia love dog killers, but hate the Mofo. Don’t try to understand it just accept it.

QSic: There wasn’t a hotter wrestler in the area at the beginning of the year than QSic. They got him over as a true psychopathic heel which the Mofo didn’t think was really possible in this date and time on the indies, but they did it. Unfortunately from that point on circumstances in VCW got twisted and tangled and the nearly perfect storyline that had been created for QSic over the previous nearly two years fell apart over the course of the year. As much as the Mofo loves PQ that belt should’ve never come of QSic as hot as he was.

Most Loved Babyface:

Sean Denny, Jimmy Cicero, and Phil Brown:

Senny Denny: The Mofo talked about this back when he did the top ten. Sean has captured that essential “babyfaceness” that so few guys are ever able too. Fans LOVE Sean. LOVE him. They truly care about him. They want to be his friend. They want to hang out with him. They feel his every bump. Sean has a connection with the fans that’s amazing. His selling is great. His bumping is great. His offense works. He knows how to work as a babyface like few others. He understands how important getting his opponent over is to getting himself over. There is no better babyface in the area.

Jimmy Cicero: The Mofo loves him some Jimmy Cicero. Cic has a better understanding of psychology than anyone else in the area. Anyone. The guy has been everywhere and worked everyone and it shows. He’s an effective heel, but when it comes to working as a babyface that’s where he really shines. Jimmy’s comeback inspired by his sons’ autism has really resonated with people. The inspiration behind Cicero’s return is real and the people recognize that and really get behind him.

Phil Brown: Phil’s been working more as a heel this year and really has only been a babyface in Ground Xero. The Mofo honestly feels that pushing Phil as a heel is like trying to swim upstream. Yeah you can do it and maybe do it well, but it’s gonna be a hell of a lot of work and going the other way would probably work a heck of a lot better. Phil is just such a likable guy that it’s hard to get people to hate him or boo him. They want to like him. They want to cheer him.

Feud of the Year:

Mark Bravura vs. Sean Denny and Pharoah vs. Eddie Diamond

Mark Bravura vs. Sean Denny: The most hated heel vs. the most loved babyface. Sneak attacks. Injuries. Family members. Managers. Girlfriends. And great promos on both sides. The feud has lasted most of the year and is hotter now than its been at any point.

Pharaoh vs. Eddie Diamond: It started with the heavyweight champ, the veteran heel against the Respect Champion, the underdog youngster babyface. They went back and forth and had a best of seven series that just got hotter and hotter. By the end, the veteran was so impressed with the heart of the youngster that he sees the error of his evil ways, the youngster earns his respect and the veteran turns babyface. Well done all around.

Most Improved:

Eddie Diamond, Victor Griff, and Mitchapalooza

Eddie Diamond: Started the year as a green clueless rookie who took really good bumps. Over the course of the year his ringwork has developed and more importantly his character, selling, and working has developed. Go to a GXW show and listen to every crowd chant “Eddie, Eddie” and you’ll understand. Eddie’s at the top of the list of guy’s in the area the Mofo hasn’t worked with that he wants to work with.

Victor Griff: Most improved heel of the year. Griff can still be a little green and stiff at times, but he’s really improved over the course of the year. His offense has the element of credibility that is hard for guys to develop, but he has. His heeling is great. The cockiness and prick attitude he exudes is great.

Mitchapalooza: Night and day. Last year at this time Mitch was having stinkers with Gamble. No real connection with the crowd. No great idea what he’s trying to do, but over that last year that’s really changed. Mitch is over HUGE at GXW because he’s started to figure what it takes to get over with the crowd. Guys will poo poo this, but working with Martin Stanley Fouqua has really helped him here. MSF is no great in ring worker, but people do not like him at all and working with him has been great for Mitch. His selling and fire have improved tremendously over the year.

Referee of the Year:

Dustin Pruitt

Dustin Pruitt: Dustin is the best referee The Mofo has ever worked with bar none. Always in the right spot. Knows how all the spots work. His facial expressions and reactions do as much to get the match over as the guys working the match. Can’t ask for anything else.

Promotion of the Year:

NWA Fusion, VCW, GXW

NWA Fusion: Focused storylines, diverse talent, passionate fans, great lockerroom, no drama, shows that always deliver.

VCW: Draw more fans than the other groups, bring in outside names, good action, great venues.

GXW: Ran more shows than anyone else, always put on an enjoyable show even if the in ring isn’t always as good, underrated in-ring work especially toward the top, dedicated crew.

Show of the Year:

NWA Fusion December, NWA Fusion March, NWA Fusion May

NWA Fusion December:

Mark Bravura d. Sean Denny by DQ, Jimmy Cicero/The Set d. Mike Booth/The Sheik’s Army, Preston Quinn/Grail d. Jefferson Early and Bobby Shields in a no-dq match, American Ranger d. Horrorshow by DQ,  Damien Wayne d. Phil Brown, Tex d. Zach Hilton, Assault and Battery d. Da Nu Bluds, CA Elliott d. Logan Hodge, Brandon Day d. Shorty Smalls

NWA Fusion March

-Vulstag w/The Sheik defeated Landon Thomas,

-The New Gods (Jefferson Early & Eddie Mason) beat Grail and “Pain Train” Preston Quinn when Early used a chain on Grail.
-”Mempho Mofo” Mark Bravura successfully defended the Alpha title against “Geordie Bulldog” Sean Denny.
-Mitch-a-palooza shocked the crowd with a dramatic victory over “Platinum Icon” Phil Brown.
-Da New Bloodz defeated Assault & Battery to retain the Fusion Tag Team Titles.
-In the Main Event, “Big Time” Mike Booth defeated The American Ranger with help from the Sheik and his Army.

NWA Fusion May:

1-Dirty Sanchez b Victor Griff
2-Krotch b Grail
3-Mark Bravura retained the Alpha title over Preston Quinn
4-American Ranger b Vulstag
5-Da New Bloodz b The New Gods of Wrestling (Jefferson Early & Brandon Morgan) to retain tag titles
6-16-man Royal Rumble for a Continental title shot won by Sean Denny
7-Mike Booth retained the Continental title over Damien Wayne

Tag Team of the Year

Assault and Battery and Da Nu Bluds

Assault and Battery: Tag Team Champs in VCW, Tag Team Champs in NWA Fusion

Da Nu Bluds: Tag Team Champs in VCW, Tag Team Champs in GXW

Manager of the Year

Marcus Dowling and Sheik Ali Akbar

Marcus Dowling: The Mofo’s been campaigning for Marcus to get down here for years and Marcus showed why. Cutting great promos and being the best ringside worker there is.

Sheik Ali Akbar: Is there anyone on the planet more committed to his gimmick? Watching the Sheik cut promos with the Army makes the Mofo love pro-wrestling again.

Rookie of the Year

Zach Hilton and Deacon Strickland

Zach Hilton: The Mofo may be more entertained by Zach Hilton than anyone else right now. His stuff with CA has been brilliant. Everything you give the kid he does and takes to another level. His moves are good. His selling is good. His promos are fun. He has no problems showing his ass. If he learns to work then he’s gonna be great. Mark it down.

Deacon Strickland: As good of an athlete as there is in the business. Yeah all of it. There’s nothing this kid can’t do. The Mofo is constantly amazed by what he pulls of in matches. Just amazed. Plus like Hilton, he has a great attitude. If he can get his working down and develop his character and promos then the sky is the limit.

Wrestler of the Year:

“Big Time” Mike Booth, Pharaoh, “The Mempho Mofo” Mark Bravura

Before talking about each guy, The Mofo is going to explain his criteria for wrestler of the year. As far as The Mofo is concerned if you are going to be The Wrestler of the Year then you should on top of close to on top somewhere for most of the year. You should be expected to at least somewhat carry a promotion. The main promotions in the area are NWA Fusion, Ground Xero Wrestling, and Vanguard Championship Wrestling. Expoland Wrestling Entertainment will be more prominent this year, but they only ran two shows last year so some can’t qualify as Wrestler of the Year simply based of EWE. KYDA ran a few shows as well, but not enough to have anyone considered for their KYDA work.

“Big Time” Mike Booth: Mike Booth was THE guy in Fusion for the entire year. He main evented almost every show. He had great matches with Damien Wayne, Preston Quinn, Sean Denny, and Jimmy Cicero. He’s been a champion in every aspect of the word.

Pharaoh: The Mofo has more experience with GXW than most people in the area and has seen more GXW shows than most people on the board. Pharaoh has been the guy in GXW since last December. As a heel he had heat, now as a babyface he’s over with the fans. He’s done a good job of staying fresh and working with a lot of different guys. Phil Brown. Mark Bravura. Eddie Diamond. Deimos.

“The Mempho Mofo” Mark Bravura: The Mofo is the greatest. Everyone knows it.

So you may have read that and asked “Where’s the VCW Nomination?” Well let’s be honest here. Though a confluence of various circumstances VCW hasn’t been able to have a focused push for their top guys throughout the year. To start the year, QSic was hotter than anyone in the area as the dominant champ, but PQ had gotten hot as a babyface and QSic had been on top for awhile and considering who was coming in in a few months it made sense to have a babyface champion. Unfortunately, The title change came at the end of a LONG show that was snakebit by no-shows and license problems and by being a street fight in a state that doesn’t allow blood. By the time the match got in the ring the crowd was burned out and things came off flat. From there PQ went to Tonic because the show was in Tonic’s home town and because of politics had to actually drop a fall to a guy who had been an undercard guy, then what looked like a promising program with Christian York started, but their first match only went 6 minutes and then York retired and the planned program with Raven got all screwed up.  Then Raven was going to work with Sid on top so Raven needed to get the belt, but Raven treated the match like a joke and turned QSic from a killing machine into a lacky and that came off flat. Then Sid no showed so those plans fell apart which led to the giant clusterfuck at the end of the summer which screwed up everything that had been built towards and the company was left scrambling. They were starting to move towards a more focused plan when their December show happens on the same date as the biggest snowstorm in decades and it gets screwed up because nobody can get there. So all that leads to the first of the Mofo’s Write In Nominations.

Snakebit Promotion of the Year:

VCW

Comeback of the Year:

Jimmy Cicero: Cicero coming back and working extensively in the area has been the best thing to happen to wrestling in the area in years. So much knowledge. So much ability. Everyone who works with him is better for it.

Loss of the Year:

Chris Escobar: The Mofo is a big Esco fan. The guy can flat out go, but two broken legs kept him from working much at all for the entire year and Virginia has been much worse off because of it. The Mofo for one definitely hopes that 2010 is much better to Esco than 2009 was. He deserves an injury and drama free year.

Story of the Year:

The VCW clusterfuck. Tons of controversy tons of talk. The problems it caused for the company are still being felt and shaking out.

Spot of the Year:

The Set making one Hallstar piledrive the other Hallstar. The greatest babyface comedy spot ever, but don’t EVER do it as heels.

Announcer of the Year:

Cameron Turk: Does a great job every time out whether it’s as a heel commentator in VCW or as the play by play guy in Fusion. His team with Marcus Dowling is money.

Development of the Year:

EWE working closely with ROH: The Mofo has heard guys shit talking this. Why? Guys from ROH coming down and seeing local talent can only be good for everyone.

Gimmick of the Year:

Sheik Ali Akbar’s Army of Destruction: All you have to do is see the Sheik standing next to The Hatriot, Krotch, Vulstagg and Horrorshow and you’ll know why.

Spot Thievery of the Year:

Festus using the Gas Mask: The move hasn’t been used ANYWHERE in almost ten years and a few weeks after the Hatriot uses it on Meltdown, Festus sorry Luke Gallows breaks it out for finish on Smackdown. The Mofo doesn’t believe in coincidence.

Best Non-Wrestling Segment:

Sean Denny assaulting Spencer Chestnutt for letting Marky D wrestle Mark Bravura: Go back and watch the show open for NWA Fusion Meltdown Episode 15 it’s brilliant. Both guys are absolutely perfect in their roles. The national companies should do something that compelling and real.