2003 Steve’s View Awards
At the end of every year I like to take a look back at the best of SoCal for the previous year, and do my annual awards column and year in review. First let’s start with the 2003 Steve’s View awards, or the “Viewies” if you will. Just as a note, these are just my picks and not the official Southern California year-end awards.
Wrestler of the Year: Super Dragon
Without a doubt the award has to go to Super Dragon this year. 2003 was probably his best year ever, and in terms of match quality there isn’t anyone who put on the number of high quality matches he did. The three matches with the most match of the year hype all feature Dragon, and he is in 16 match of the year nominees total. Despite wrestling almost weekly, he is maybe the only regular wrestler in SoCal who is by himself a draw. He has been the centerpiece of Revolution Pro, and one of the main focuses of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. It seems the real competition this year is to who will finish second, with strong cases to be made for Frankie Kazarian, Joey Ryan, and Adam Pearce, but there’s no question in my min who number one is in 2003.
Previous Winners
2001: Super Dragon
2002: B-Boy
Match of the Year: Super Dragon & B-Boy over Jardi Frantz & Bobby Quance 03/29 GSCW This was the hardest award to pick for me. This match, Joey Ryan defeating Super Dragon in the PWG tournament, and Super Dragon defeating TARO in the mask versus mask match were all very close. However without reviewing any of the three on tape, I felt this was the best match of the three. At the time GSCW was having the very hot SoCal against NorCal angle involving APW, and the heat for this
match was out of control, and these four guys stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. The finishing sequence to the match was just so intense. Really it was the finish that made me pick this match over the other two, as neither of the other two matches had a ending that was as intense as this match’s.
Previous Winners
2001: B-Boy over Super Dragon 11/03 MPW
2002: Samoa Joe & Super Dragon over Spanky & American Dragon
07/14 EPIC
Rookie of the Year: Quicksilver
A good sign for the future is how deep the rookie talent pool was in 2003. Last year we had trouble coming up with eight deserving nominees for the rookie of the year award, while this year it was hard narrowing it down to eight. I think pretty much any one of the eight nominees this year deserve to win, but Quicksilver really did the most in 2003. He’s in one of the top tag-teams, and possible tag-team of the year, and has had some very good singles matches this year. His match with Phoenix Star in the opening round of the Revolution J was one of the best matches on Revolution Pro’s showcase tournament.
Previous Winners
2001: Pinoy Boy
2002: Shawn Riddik
Promotion of the Year: Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
To me this award was between Lucha VaVoom and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla with the way APW LA has fallen. The main thing that hurt Lucha VaVoom to me was the fact they only ran three shows. PWG had 6 shows, all which are probably considered among the top shows wrestling wise of the year. Which gives PWG the slight edge on my ballot.
Previous Winners
2001: Revolution Pro
2002: UPW
Tag Team of the Year: Aerial Express (Scorpio Sky & Quicksilver)
If you would have asked me a few months ago, I’d have said Hardkore Inc. was the best tag-team of 2003, but not wrestling at all during the last part of the year has hurt them. Aerial Express held the AWS tag titles this year, and while they weren’t the Rev Pro tag champions, they’d have to be considered the
top regular tag team in the promotion. Also, as a tag-team they have had several match of the year candidates. When it came down to it the choice wasn’t that difficult.
Previous Winners
2001: Los Cubanitos (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero)
2002: X-Foundation (Scott Lost & Joey Ryan)
Most Underrated: Al Katrazz
Al Katrazz is a guy who never gets the credit he deserves, and I guess it’s because he doesn’t work a whole lot of shows, but anyone who has seen him in San Diego knows how underrated on the whole he is. In 2003 outside of San Diego Al Katrazz was mostly known for his tag matches with Hardkore Kidd. In San Diego’s WCWA the focus of the promotion was being built around him against Adam Pearce,
which probably would have been one of, if not the biggest match in WCWA’s history if it would have had a chance to finish developing.
Previous Winners
2001: King Faviano
2002: Supa Badd
Breakout Wrestler of the Year: Babi Slymm
Babi Slymm has been huge in the San Diego area for a couple years now, but this is the year he broke out all over SoCal. This year with matches in Rev Pro, PWG, UPW, and APW, LA people started to take notice of Slymm all over SoCal. He’s shown he can work with heavyweights like Adam Pearce, as well as juniors like Super Dragon and Joey Ryan. With him winning the Rev Pro heavyweight title, he’ll get even more of a chance to prove himself in 2004, by seeing if he can elevate a title that has become almost completely meaningless.
Previous Winners
2001: Samoa Joe
2002: Lil’ Cholo
Most Improved: Ragin’ Dawg
I remember a couple of years ago I would dread it when I’d see Ragin’ Dawg on a card. over the last year plus Dawg has really stepped up his game and quite turns in the best performance on whatever show he is on. Dawg has also began wrestling regularly in Tijuana over the last year, wrestling guys such as Psicosis and the Villano’s.
Previous Winners
2001: Excalibur
2002: “Iceman” John Black
Referee of the Year: Rick Knox
Rick Knox was the clear choice this year, as he ref’d on almost every show and seldom has any mishaps. Another plus for Knox is that unlike some refs, he never takes away from the match and allows the wrestlers to get the heat.
Previous Winners
2001: Jason McCord
2002: Jason McCord
Second of the Year: CE Vanderpyle
There really was no other choice for 2003. No one, except Adam Pearce, could generate heat like Vanderpyle can. When you mix Pearce and Vanderpyle together they are literally starting riots at shows. I think everyone in the US knows that wrestling is entertainment, but anyone who can bring out such legit hatred in people who know what they are seeing is not “real” definitely gets my votes.
Previous Winners
2001: Paul T.
2002: Jason Bennett
SoCal Website of the Year: Revolutionpro.com
This is pretty much the kiss of death, as the last two winners of this award died off shortly after. Still, it was between Rev Pro’s site, and Shane’s Photos, but I had to go with Rev Pro’s website due to the number of updates. The site is updated almost daily with news and interviews. They’ve really stepped up
this year, after years past where Rev Pro’s site would seldom be updated.
2004’s Wrestler of the Year: Adam Pearce
Pearce would have had a legit shot this year if WCWA lasted I think with the way the feud with him and Al Katrazz was brewing, or if UPW ran more with him as the top heel. With him being one of the main focuses of PWG, UPW slated to run more shows, and a possible return of WCWA it looks as if the matches will be there for him. In the ring Pearce is one of the best wrestlers around, and few are his equal in SoCal on the mic. I think 2004 will be the year where he will get more of a chance to show what he can do.
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At K-1’s New Years Eve show at the Nagoya Dome in Japan Tom Howard lost to Kristof Midoux in 4:21 in the first round, and Sylvester “Predator” Terkay defeated Mauricio Silva in an impressive 13 seconds. Both matches were fought under mixed martial arts rules.
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I want to put out a shill for Babi Slymm. Slymm’s “Keepin’ It Gangsta”
t-shirts are available for sale. For information e-mail babigangsta619@hotmail.com or go to BabiSlymm.com.
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I’ll be back in a couple of days with a look back at 2003 with my year in review column, and a look ahead at 2004.
