Friday, December 18, 2015

The 2015 Caveys: Matches

Welcome to my inaugural Cavey Awards.


The Cavey Awards are my attempt at a year-end wrap-up where I recognize the wrestlers and producers who I think did a great job.

The Rules

Results are based entirely on my experiences in 2015 and nothing else. They're reflective of what I watched this year (up to December 15th) , regardless of when it was produced or I bought/rented it. For example, the remaining Thunder's Arena summer 2015 matches I haven't watched yet will be eligible for a 2016 Cavey, not 2015.

I don't watch every wrestler, match or promotion. So that means there might be something or someone amazingly awesome out there that deserves recognition, but if I haven't seen it, it's not eligible. Like the Oscars, it might skew towards the most recent stuff. At the start of the year I had no idea I would try this. I'm not 100% sure what I watched early this year vs. late last year, but I did try to look back.

Of course the comment box is a great place for YOU to weigh in on anyone or anything you think is deserving of an award.

I appreciate the challenge of real awards shows a little more now. Choosing one winner in any category is tough. I deliberately call them 'Favorite' as opposed to 'Best', because this is all my subjective assessment.



Today, I'm awarding my Favorite Match awards. Tomorrow will be Favorite Wrestlers and Sunday will be awards for promotions.

The 2015 Caveys go to ...

And here's Ryan to present the awards ...

Favorite Match: Alex Waters vs. Bruce Ballard (Rock Hard Wrestling)
Favorite Ring Match: Alex Waters vs. Bruce Ballard (Rock Hard Wrestling)

The second-best RHW match ever is my favorite match of 2015. Since it took place in a ring, that means it's also my favorite ring match, too. It is literal perfection and possibly RHW's last great high point. Obviously I hope not, but either way, it's awesome. (see full review here)

Bruce is proud of winning

But he should know Alex doesn't share

Favorite Mat Match: Mikey Hanlon vs. Aron Stokes (Movimus)

I enjoyed this match from start to finish as both guys are hot and skilled in perfect gear. The wrestling is crisp, the holds intense and there's a definitive winner. The tight camerawork and 4K video put me on the mat with them and I never wanted to leave. (see full review here)

Did Mikey faint when he heard he'd won?

Guys, both of you can claim the award

Favorite WTF?!? Match: Guido Genatto vs. Chet Chastain (BGEast)

This was my Favorite Surprise award until I picked the winner. The last line of this video is "What the fuck?" My thoughts exactly, so I renamed the entire award. This video is a lot of the nonsense I don't like, but for some reason I loved it here. (see full review here)

Yes, you really did win for this

That's the best way to celebrate

Favorite Squash Match: Alex Oliver vs. Sgt. Stiff (CameronWrestler)

A classic 80's heel-jobber beatdown from beginning to end. I compared it to seeing Sgt. Slaughter after a heel turn beating on Kevin Von Erich. Just awesome. (see full review here)

Did you hear we won a Cavey, jobber?

Yay, it was *cough, cough* all worth it! UNH!

Favorite Gimmick Match: Nick Diesel vs. Johnny Deep (UCW)

Of all the "gimmick" matches I watched that involved oil, masks, costumes, ropes and more, this one stands above them all. I bought Diesel vs. Deep and Diesel vs. Harper based on recommendations in the comments of another review. This is the one I managed to watch and I thought it was great. Now if Quinn/Harper turns out as well, we have an early front runner for the 2016 Caveys! (full review to come in 2016)

Diesel's got the ropes ready in his trunks

And he knows how to use them

Summary of Winners


Congratulations to all the winners.

It was tough to choose, but kind of fun to do. Of course I'm going to encourage comments. Maybe you saw stuff I didn't that you'd give an award to? Let everyone know who and what you'd reward!

Tomorrow, I award individual wrestlers.

Alex

18 comments:

  1. cigamc:

    is there gonna be an award for ur amazing stories, i think that ur stories would be amazing if any company who does wrestling DVD could translate ur stories to DVD because are amazing.
    when i watch wrestling mostly from BGeast i feel always missing something but when i read ur stories is completely different i feel full

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    1. Wow, thanks! I don't think I'll be giving myself a Cavey any time soon, but comments like yours are my awards. I really appreciate your enthusiasm for my stories.

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    2. cigamc:

      u very welcome

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  2. This was very cool, man. I loved the format and how fun it was presented, with Ryan in a tux and all.

    And like cigamc, your blog and tales should totally get a trophy for all the hot action and great storylines you share with us all.

    Your shiny gold 2015 Brawny award is in the mail. :D

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    1. Yay! Just the idea of winning an award called "The Brawny" sounds amazing!

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  3. So happy there was a "Favorite Squash Match" category! Can't wait to see if "Favorite Jobber" is going to be a category. (And if so, the different ways to go: Do they have to be a jobber ALL THE TIME to qualify? Frankly, I'd count someone as a "jobber" if I liked them getting beat up for just a part of a match!)

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    1. P.S. Who WOULDN'T love that Cavey, with its glistening golden torso?

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    2. There is a favorite jobber and he is a jobber the vast majority of the time. I didn't count guys I just like to see get beat up part of the match, because that would be too many non-jobbers. However, my favorite wrestler would be the guy who fits that bill for me, so you can look at him that way.

      And thanks for complimenting the award. I worried it looked like a cheap plastic shampoo bottle, so I'm glad you thought it looked good. :)

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    3. "...and he is a jobber the vast majority of the time." That's the best kind. ;)

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    4. Jobbers and jobbing leave me as cold as the Ice Ages. Too many hot guys are relegated to being perpetual underdogs. I dislike it even more when those guys that after good beginnings are transformed into the J-word.

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  4. I also would award Bruce v Alex as one of my favorite matches this year. It really is an underappreciated gem and you were spot on when you said it was RHW's last great high point...well, actually, I might have to give that honor to Coop v Tanner Hill (which is the ONLY match from RHW 2.0 that is worth the money imho) but I'm not sure you got to check that one out, yet.

    I do not appreciate the style of Movimus like you do b/c it is far too quiet for my liking and too expensive, but there's no denying that Hanlon is very, very hot and it is a shame he does not wrestle for one of the Big Three (i.e. Thunders, RHW, BG).

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    1. Thanks for the comment! The only RHW 2.0 match I've bought is Ethan Andrews vs. Rex Bedford, but I only watched the first fall. This might sound crazy, but Tanner Hill's hair makes him not interesting or attractive to me at all. He's very fit, but I just can't get past the 90's (80's?) preppy movie villain hairstyle.

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    2. hoochie, I agree with you on movimus. Not my cup of tea; however, Hanlon (who I have really only seen on another site that does not like to be publicized) really does need to be brought to more people's attention! However, out of the Big Three that you mentioned, I really don't see him finding his footing at any of those companies, though I think BG might be the closest match.

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  5. Alex R:

    I think you deserve lots of credit for "The Cavey's" I loved that our favorite Cave characters were presenters and the design of the award was...rather intriguing lol. Awesome Miller...just awesome. Looking forward to next years awards!

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    1. Thanks! I'm glad you liked the presenters. I thought that would be a fun touch. Of course Cody didn't present, because once he found out he wasn't winning anything, he wasn't interested. However, I can't even think about next year's awards yet! LOL.

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    2. Alex R:

      HAHAHA that was funny, that would be Cody! Great posts...so I have a question. Is the award a Dildo with a Bat theme lol? I founfd it hilarious

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    3. Oh good lord no! It's a statue I found online then modified into an award. It doesn't look practical to me in that way, but if that's what it looks like I'll have to re-design it.

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    4. Alex R:

      HAHA no worries lol. Its just me being naughty!

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