After a recent conversation with Steve Bryant about this year in SoCal wrestling and a discussion about who could end up being this year’s SoCal Wrestler Of The Year, I thought I’d right a column with my thoughts on the current race for SoCal WOTY and make an attempt to try and help this site add more content.
So far nine months have passed in the year of 2006, and right now it seems to me that the race for SoCal Wrestler Of The Year is going to be a much more interesting race this year than previous years. Over the past few years, Super Dragon was always the leading candidate to win the award. Dragon has been in the top three every year SCU has been holding it’s yearly awards. Last year, Dragon was ranked number three overall for the year 2005, the lowest he’s ever been ranked. As a result, Chris Bosh and Kevin Steen were ranked in the top two for the first time in their careers, and several new faces started to appear in the end of the year rankings. This year, things are starting to look as if we’re going to see some new names in the awards rankings. Below are some names I think will make an impact on the overall year and which ones I think will have a great chance at becoming the 2006 SoCal Wrestler Of The Year in no particular order.Instead of just making a list of random wrestlers, I’m going to break things down into three sections. The first one being the guys who I think have the best chances at being WOTY, the second with wrestlers who I think have a very good chance at making the the top three, and the wildcard picks that have guys who I think are going to make a good impression on the voters this year, although they haven’t done enough to become SoCal WOTY but could make an impact on the voting.
Best Chances
El Generico-It’s been two years since Generico made his debut in SoCal. Since his debut, he has been able to win over a brand new fan base and has been putting on many quality matches. This year, he’s been involved in many SoCal MOTYC, along with his tag team partner Quicksilver, and had one of the most impressive showings in this year’s BOLA tournament. His match with CIMA at BOLA is one of my favorite matches of the year so far and what many are calling the best match of the entire tournament. Several of his tag matches with Quicksilver against teams like Los Luchas, Arrogance, The Kings Of Wrestling, and Super Dragon and Davey Richards have also ranked pretty high in the monthly SCU rankings. So far, I think Generico has the best chance at winning SoCal Wrestler Of The Year for 2006.
Joey Ryan-So far the longest reigning champion in PWG history is Joey Ryan. Joey has carried the PWG World Championship since December of 2005 and has been defending the belt in several areas in the US, and has defended it in Germany and England. Along with his long run as PWG World Champ, Joey has also become one of the best heels in indy wrestling today and is part of one the hottest factions in wrestling. Joey has also been named Wrestler Of The Month twice this year, which is the most any wrestler has been named WOTM so far in 2006 on SCU. He has also appeared in every Top 5 match in each month’s rankings with his match with B-Boy in July being ranked as the best match of that month, and has appeared on WWE television(even though it was a squash match). Joey has an extremely good chance at being named Wrestler Of The Year for this year, but in my mind it’s going to be a close race between him and Generico.
As far as match quality goes, I think many people will vote for Generico. Overall though, Joey has the edge when it comes to accomplishments with rankings and title runs. He has also appeared in more SoCal promotions this year with his matches in EWF, NWA Pro, AWS, APW, HRW, BiG Pro, Hybrid Pro, and UPW and appeared in this year’s Best Of The American Super Juniors tournament.
Very Good Chances:
B-Boy-Upon his return to SoCal, B-Boy has been quickly re-established his reputation as one of the best wrestlers in Southern California. He was named Wrestler Of The Month in January, and was in the MOTN in June and July. One thing that I think will help him out is his bid for WOTY this year is that his program with Joey Ryan and his chase for the PWG World Championship did a really good job at getting him over with what seems to be a new fan base that has recently been attending events in SoCal. What’s crazy to me is that B-Boy went from being named SoCal Wrestler Of The Year in 2002, to being ranked #5 in 2003 in the overall rankings, to being nowhere near the top eight in 2004 and 2005. At this point in the year I don’t think B-Boy will be named WOTY, or end up being the runner up, but he’ll definitely rank somewhere in the top five.
Super Dragon-This year has been a very up and down year for Dragon as far as 2006 goes. While Dragon has been putting on quality matches, his time off during the summer has hurt his chances at being one of the front runners for being SoCal WOTY. So far this year, Dragon has yet to be ranked WOTM in SCU’s monthly rankings, but has been a runner up several times. Although Dragon hasn’t been dominating the SoCal scene in 2006, he has been able to put many great matches in SoCal. His run as one half of the PWG World Tag Team Champions has helped elevate the tag team scene in PWG. He was involved in two MOTM in 2006, and his match with Davey Richards against Roderick Strong and Jack Evans is being praised as one of the best tag team matches to take place in recent history on various websites on the internet, and his match with Necro Butcher at the BOLA being praised as one the best matches of the tournament. If Dragon can comeback strong in the final months of 2006, he could have a good chance at being in the top two, or reclaim his crown if he has an excellent showing for the rest of the year. As of now, he has a good chance at being in the top five based on tag run with Davey Richards this year.
Davey Richards-Speaking of Davey Richards, he’s got a great chance at winning WOTY in SoCal in the minds of many, but hasn’t been able to rank above the number three spot in the WOTM rankings in 2006. In my mind that could hurt him. Despite that, Davey has helped make the tag division in PWG one of the best in wrestling today. His run with the PWG World Tag Team Titles with Super Dragon helped elevate the importance of the titles in the promotion with his performances in his matches are always top notch. Along with his run as PWG World Tag Champ with Dragon, Davey was also able to put on an amazing run at this year’s BOLA on his way to winning the tournament. While he has accomplished many great things this year in wrestling in other places, such as winning this year’s Super 8 tournament and becoming a regular in Ring Of Honor, he has made SoCal his wrestling home. Davey has a really good chance at being a runner up for the award, but with his run as PWG World Tag Champ and BOLA victory, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up winning the award. Right now though, I don’t think he’s a lock for the award yet.
Right now, Davey has the best chance to break out of this pack. He has the accomplishments and was involved in some great tag matches, but I think one MOTYC with him in a singles match will lead him to the top. Dragon is in the same boat in my mind. If he can stay healthy and put some really good matches for the rest of the year, I can see him being up there. B-Boy also has a good chance at cracking the top three, but Dragon, Davey, Joey, and Generico are ahead of him in my mind at the moment.
Wild Cards
Quicksilver-2006 has been a really impressive year for Quicksilver. He has been involved in three Matches Of The Month in SCU’s rankings for 2006, which is the most out of any wrestler in SoCal this year(Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Super Dragon, Davey Richards, Zokre, Phoenix Star, El Generico, and B-Boy are all tied for the #2 spot with 2 appearances in the MOTM for 2006). As of right now I doubt he’ll crack the top three, but if he continues to put on amazing matches he could possibly end up being ranked pretty high in the end. Although I do see him and Generico as a lock in the top two best tag teams in SoCal for 2006.
Scorpio Sky-Ever since he lost his mask in July of 2005, Scorpio Sky has done a really good job at becoming a heel. He’s one of the most charismatic wrestlers in SoCal at the moment, and he’s been putting on some really good matches to go along with his character. In the rankings for 2006, Sky has been involved in one MOTM and was named WOTM once. Along with all the rankings, Sky has been involved in some pretty fun feuds with the likes of Human Tornado, Frankie Kazarian, and is part of one PWG’s hottest angles/factions with The Dynasty. I really doubt he’ll make the top three at the end of the year, but I feel he’ll have a good showing at the end of the year.
At this point, I can’t think of another wrestler to rank in the eighth spot. There are several guys out here who have had a good year in SoCal that have a shot at making the final eight. Rocky Romero is one guy who I think could end up being on the final list for voting. He has the credentials as well. He was named WOTM once and won the Best Of The American Super Juniors this year. TJ Perkins has had a pretty solid year, and won the 2006 Best Of The West tournament. Although I don’t think that will be enough to get him ranked high enough. Bino Gambino‘s year seems to have been a breakout year for him in a way. He’s been able to branch out from wrestling in EWF to getting many bookings with various SoCal promotions such as PWG, NWA Pro, Viva La Lucha, UPW, HPW, and was part of the 2006 Best Of The West. His run as current EWF Champion also helps him out, but I don’t see him ranking high in the end of the year voting. However, if there was an award for Breakout SoCal Wrestler for 2006, I could see him ranking pretty high on that list.
Two guys who I didn’t mention much above, but were the top two wrestlers in SoCal last year, Kevin Steen and Chris Bosh, don’t seem to be favorites in my mind this year. Steen has had a solid year so far, but it doesn’t match up to his breakout year last year in SoCal. He’s put on some really good matches this year with guys like Matt Sydal, Frankie Kazarian, various tag matches involving The Dynasty and Cape Fear, and the four way he was in with Joey Ryan, AJ Styles, and Chris Bosh. While Steen has had a good year so far, I doubt he’ll end up being in the final voting since he will be touring with Dragon Gate in Japan for the rest of the year. Speaking of Chris Bosh, his year hasn’t been up to par with last year. Although now there seems to be some hope for him. He’s currently one half of the PWG World Tag Team Champions with Scott Lost, and has been in several fantastic matches this year. Depending on the rest of his year this year, Bosh could possibly make his way back up the rankings for voting.
Overall, Wrestler Of The Year seems to be a close race between Joey Ryan and El Generico in my mind with Super Dragon and Davey Richards coming up close behind them. The finals months of 2006 could help the wrestlers who are could end up in the top three at the end of the year. So far it’s been an interesting year in SoCal when it comes to trying to predict who will be WOTY for 2006.
If you would like to send feedback(good or bad), write a review about a recent SoCal show or DVD, or write a column about something in SoCal wrestling and have it featured on SCU’s main page, you can e-mail me at truefanscu@hotmail.com
