The Caveys are simply my way to recognize a few of MY personal favorite wrestlers, matches and promotions for the year. I use the word ‘favorite’ deliberately. I don't claim these are the ‘best’. That suggests some kind of objective standard and ranking. These are 100% subjective and 100% mine. And I doubt anyone will agree with me on all of these. And that's cool. These are simply my favorites based on my feelings about what I watch this year.
The rules are simple:
- Eligibility includes any and all videos purchased by me OR provided to me by producers for promotional purposes.
- Matches: I must have first watched the match between December 1st 2016 and November 30 2017. It does not matter when the video was produced, released or purchased. It is only the date of my first viewing that matters.
- Wrestlers: I have seen all nominated and winning wrestlers in action during the eligibility period. Only wrestlers who appeared in an eligible match (see above) were considered for an award. Wrestlers are judged ONLY on eligible matches and nothing else.
- Promotions: I must have purchased a video and watched it during the eligibility period in order for the promotion to be considered. As well, the promotion can't have asked me or other bloggers not to be covered. For the 2017 Caveys, there are 12 eligible promotions: 88 Wrestling, BGEast, Can-Am, Jonny Firestorm, Krushco, Movimus, Muscle Domination Wrestling, Muscleboy Wrestling, Rock Hard Wrestling, Thunders Arena, UCW, and Wrestler4Hire.
So as you can see, my viewing in 2017 is what matters. If I didn't watch it, it doesn't count. And there are no carryovers, lifetime awards or legacy picks. It's why I haven't had many repeat winners, because everyone starts off with a clean slate.
In order to avoid any recency bias, I did look back at a lot of the videos that I watched earlier this year. That was important, because there were amazing matches and wrestlers that I simply forgot about. This was especially true for Thunders Arena. Remember Billy the Kid? Spike? Bart? Kid Dynamite? I raved about them all at some point, but haven't seen any of them for months.
If you think I missed something or someone that was awesome, tell me about it in the comments. If you want to share your favorites, the comment box is waiting for you. One of the best parts of doing this is getting suggestions. In both 2015 and 2016, commenters steered me towards great new wrestlers and matches, including this year’s Favorite Wrestler. So I'd love to read your opinions!
And now, lets get on with the show. I'm starting with the guys who make it all happen - the studs in speedos who put it all on the line for our amusement. Everyone who does it deserves recognition and respect, but below are a few of the standouts of the past year.
Favorite Wrestlers
This year, I'm doing a couple of new things with the wrestler awards. Unlike last year, I have ten different awards. That's right, no double winners in 2017. And I'm showing you “nominations” of a sort as I picture two runners-up for each award before focusing on the winner.
1. Favorite Overall Wrestler
This was a slam dunk for me. Last year, readers were surprised I skipped over him, but I just hadn't seen much of him. I sure made up for that. I watched a ton of Scrappy this year, that's for sure, as he reached iconic status in 2017. Even if Scrappy never wrestled again, I'd vote for him for the underground wrestling Hall of Fame.
Handsome and built, this powerhouse is the most versatile wrestler in the business right now. He can win, lose, face, heel, be serious or playful, be meek or maniacal. You name it, he can do it. Plus, he consistently elevated his opponents and worked great with everyone, regardless of size, skills or experience.
 |
| Scrappy celebrates! |
 |
| Yep, you're my favorite! |
My only repeat winner from 2016, Kid Karisma starred in three great videos. The guy is genuinely amazing in all facets of wrestling, smoothly moving from ring to mats to outside and handling bigger, smaller and in-between. It feels like there aren't as many great classic ‘heels’ running around, so I'm thankful for a consistent performer like Kid Karisma that keeps delivering year after year.
 |
| Kid wins again! |
 |
| Aw, he's wishing runner-up Ethan better luck next year. |
This is usually harder to pick than heels. Not this year. When I looked strictly at 2017, there was one guy who just stood out to me right away.
Blayne did win once that I saw in 2017, but that just kept me on my toes and re-ignited my interest in him. The guy is a pure gorgeous jobber. Hairy or smooth. Bearded, scruffy or shaved. Ring, mat or poolside. It all just works as he seamlessly switched from hapless doormat to feisty doormat to competitive threat (who loses in the end). And so, Blayne manages to win thanks to his skill at losing. Bravo!
 |
| Is that a cry of joy for winning? |
 |
| And that's how you win Favorite Jobber. |
This gets a lot tougher each year. There were a ton of great options, but when I focus strictly on 2017, my gut said Joey, but my heart said Nick. I left it for my brain to decide. Joey had 3 winners, but 2 so-so ones, while Nick had 2 big winners. Is 3-2 better than 2-0? I went with the number of winners, so Joey won the closest contest of this year's Caveys.
 |
| Joey takes out the competition. |
 |
| Yeah, you're the man. |
I've loved Vinny since he debuted, but it was his new summer daddy look that makes him my choice. Damn, he looked amazing on the mat and in the ring. And he didn't just look good. The matches were good. Two squashes and three competitive battles made for a nice variety, but in all of them, Vinny was Vinny, only hotter than ever.
 |
| Vinny proves my point. |
 |
| That's the best way to celebrate a Cavey win. |
Jonny is an all-time great, but he also had a great 2017 with three winning matches. I reviewed two of them, plus I also watched a Jonny-Aryx match from Jonny’s site that I didn't review. This year, Jonny was once again one of those smaller studs that just wrestles big. He can dominate anyone and you just believe. From skills to personality, Jonny was my favorite smaller dude this year.
 |
| Jonny's excited about winning. |
 |
| Uh, that's not the Cavey ... oh well, it's still a trophy. |
I'm very happy to see body hair making a big comeback. There were a ton of options here, but for my top three, it's not that they just didn't shave before a shoot. No, it's that their body hair is essential to their personality and/or storyline, which is why these guys rose above a Blayne, Dario or Joey. This way, it's not just a 'looks' award, it's truly a Hairy Hunk award.
After just missing out in the 2016 Caveys, Guido is a winner again thanks to some great action, winning and - gasp - losing at Wrestler4Hire. No matter what, the Dirty Daddy’s body hair and bulge remind you that he is all-man all the time. As a brutish bad ass, there's no one who can match his intensity and ferocity. Woof.
 |
| Woof. Yeah, Guido, you won! |
 |
| C'mon guys, don't be jealous. |
The absolute hardest category this year by volume. I started out with a long list, especially from Thunders Arena, which seriously had nine legitimate options, and Muscleboy Wrestling, which had three. That's a dozen before I even reached anyone else. In the end, as I looked at the list over and over, paring it down, the most consistent and prolific option rose to the top.
Blayne certainly deserves this. No one has ever won two Favorite Wrestler Caveys in the same year, but that was really the only reason not to give him this. Otherwise, Blayne was everything a great gay wrestling video superstar should be. Like any rookie, he needed to find his feet, but once he did, wow, watch out. The guy was seemingly open for anything and just kept coming back for more and more.
 |
| Yep, Icy, that's what a winner looks like. |
 |
| Aw, Scrappy's giving his fellow winner a hug. Sweet. |
Last year I called this Favorite Flirt for some stupid reason. I didn't like the name then, but the show had to go on. And so this year, I'm being more clear.
You'll notice that nudity and sex are not required for eroticism with the Caveys and in fact, Justin’s most overt matches worked against him more than for him. It was his sexy, sensual action against Dante, Luke Maxwell and JJ Allen that won. No one admired their opponents more and was able to combine pleasure and pain so brilliantly. I called him a force of nature on the mats and the guy everyone should want to wrestle. Simply fantastic.
 |
| C'mon JJ, give the winner a kiss. |
 |
| See, Luke knows how to congratulate a guy. |
10. The Second Look Award
This is another new category for 2017. This is designed to recognize a guy that I used to not like or I've regularly overlooked.
I had literally no interest in Rex/Jaxton Wheeler until his match against Vinny. I didn't buy that for Rex, but I walked away a huge fan. What presence and sex appeal. I saw Jaxton’s charisma again in his hot hairy versus smooth match against Z-Man, bulge battle with Joshua Goodman, and his confusing worship-beatdown session with Ricky Vega.
Rex/Jaxton gets this award because he went from ‘who?’ to ‘I'm definitely checking out the big, hairy hunk’ in 2017.
 |
| Yeah, you caught my eye in 2017, stud. |
 |
| Enjoy your Cavey, Rex! |
So that's the scoop. Ten Caveys handed out to ten deserving wrestling studs. I can't believe how much harder this gets every year. I question and debate every choice, but I'm pretty happy with my decisions.
Now is the part where you write your reactions and choices in the comments section. There's no right or wrong, so have at it, guys!
Tomorrow, the Caveys return to reward my favorite matches of 2017!
Alex
Love this year end review! And very happy muscleboywrestling.com's very own Justin Powers won favorite erotic wrestler. We just released a new vid of his vs Jesse Zane and it's 1 hour long. Check it out when you can fans! And thanks Alex for the award and support of our site and wrestlers!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Justin deserved it, but Steve and Nick came close, too. And I didn’t get to acknowledge Chris Cannon, who was in the final list for rookie and heel, but just missed out on my top three. Tough year.
DeleteAll excellent picks and deserving winners. We fans have definitely been spoiled for choice this year!
ReplyDelete-JS
Thanks. Yeah, it was a good year for a lot of guys. There were a lot who didn’t even get recognized and probably would’ve either of the first two years.
DeleteWhere was the love for "Slim McSmiley"? Thought he would have at least made the cut for jobber/rookie categories.
ReplyDeleteInteresting choice. For me, his wrestling is subpar. I never even considered him for an award. He’s cute, but that’s not enough for a Cavey.
Delete