Once again, I've created three posts to honor my favorite wrestlers, matches and promotions for the previous year. All from the world of gay wrestling videos (not pro wrestling). While I believe that every man who strips down and wrestles for us deserves praise, there are some that stand out to me more than others each year and that's what today is about.
The Caveys are meant to be fun and a bit of 'thanks' to a few hard-working hunks. I don't use words like 'best', just 'favorite'.
The rules for today are simple:
- Eligibility includes any wrestler in a video I watched for the first time between 12/1/18-11/30/19, regardless of when it was made or purchased.
- Wrestlers are judged ONLY on 2019 eligible videos and nothing else. No carryovers, lifetime awards or legacy picks. In fact, over the past four years, I've given 35 Wrestler Cavey Awards to 30 different wrestlers. So, there is not a ton of repetition from year to year.
Who are my favorite wrestlers of 2019?
(1) Favorite Wrestler
Probably not a huge surprise. Scrappy becomes the first wrestler to win Favorite Wrestler twice, following up on his 2017 win. In just a few years, Scrappy has become a true legend. And in 2019, he's only gotten better thanks to his MBW matches. They've been great and he's really stepped up his game. Bigger muscles, bigger attitude and a little more freedom to go for it.
Beyond his obvious beauty, personality and skills, one of the best things about Scrappy is how good he makes everyone else. It's not a coincidence that several other winners had signature matches against Scrappy this year. His mere presence elevates every video he appears in more than any other guy I can think of. We're watching a legend at work every time he steps on the mats.
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| Don't look so shocked, Scrappy. You deserve this! |
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| That's it. Bask in the glory of your second Favorite Wrestler Cavey! |
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| Yeah, you really went above and behind this year! |
But one thing I nailed is the two winners for Face and Jobber. Both deserve a Cavey this year.
(2) Favorite Face
Cameron Matthews is another legend and could be the best jobber, but I did see him kick some butt a couple of times this year. Either way, he deserves a Cavey for amazing action this year at BGEast and Wrestler4Hire, so this is the one I gave him. He's a must-watch and just so goshdarn affable all the time, even when he's laying down the law to the guys who wrestle for him.
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| Cameron's still got that babyface attitude, even when he's kicking butt. |
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| Good guys can finish first! |
(3) Favorite Jobber
I knew that Joey McCoy had to win an award when I saw his match against Scrappy. It was the third time I'd seen him this year and I just got more and more impressed. Really, every Joey McCoy match has been awesome. His reactions and over-reactions are incredible, his wrestling is top-notch and his little body is so wonderfully bendy. I could watch Joey against just about anyone because he always seems to give it his all.
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| Did you hear, Joey? You're my favorite jobber of 2019! |
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| Everyone wants to make sure Joey heard the good news! |
(4) Favorite Heel
My first repeat winner from 2018. Chase had another really good year with two of the top matches BGEast put out this year. He schooled Noah Samson and unleashed his fury against Richie Douglas. Both matches were perfection and his innovative spirit and creative mind makes him stand above the rest of the bad boys. I've said he's the most creative heel working and I firmly stand by that belief.
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| Chase really crushed the competition this year. |
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| Even his victims are happy for him! |
The biggest change for this year is no hearsay. I have to have seen the nominees in an indie match (via YouTube, not necessarily live). That eliminated guys that I've only heard wrestle pro, like Channing Travolta or Joey King, but I have no idea who they are or where they wrestle. And I only looked at work for gay-oriented wrestling video companies, not what they do in the indies.
Let me be clear. Elite Eliot is a deserving winner, so that setup was not a knock against him. Just some added clarity. I love the guy and he had great matches at two different places, including an award-winning match (Which one? You'll find out tomorrow). He can play heel or jobber and he's sexy as fuck. And he brings his indie pro skills, attitude and experience to every match.
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| Yep, you won, sexy! |
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| Good idea. Take a nap and come back big in 2020. |
My third and final repeat winner from 2018 is Aspen. What put him over the top again are his non-porn matches at Thunders Arena. His match against Scrappy is one of the sexiest matches I watched this year and he was terrific getting squashed by pros Brute and Joey King. Aspen won last year for his aggressive style. This year, he keeps the crown by being so committed to his craft.
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| Aspen's always in high gear. |
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| Yeah, that's a nice way to celebrate double wins. |
This category came down to quality over quantity. Brute's perfect portrayal of
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| I just couldn't get past this. |
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| That's a real beast. |
Always one of the most competitive categories but one that I have only missed on once. Jersey didn't keep his momentum going, but I'd say that Blayne, Alex Costa, Chase Michaels and Steel have all proved to be pretty darn good in the years after their Cavey Awards. Channing wowed me right away as he got pummeled by every big heel W4H has and manhandled by Elite Eliot, too. A hot pro beefcake, I hope he shows up in 2020 (in his packed white trunks).
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| Believe it, Eliot, he's a Cavey winner, too. |
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| Yep, Channing was money this year. |
This is a squishy category, but I thought it was interesting. I decided to reward a complete personality transformation over an amazing physical one and a one-off heel turn. Brendan returned last year but like Scrappy, his MBW matches really put him over the top. Brendan has become a smash-and-bash heel with a sadistic streak a mile long. The heels at BGEast and the young punks at MBW felt his wrath and I hope he continues to unleash it.
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| Yes, you're the man now, big boy! |
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| Aw, Brendan and Scrappy are celebrating their Cavey wins together. have fun, boys! |
Congratulations, men. Nine Caveys handed out to nine deserving wrestling studs. You all deserve the recognition and appreciate your hard work this year.
Now, it's your turn. I only watch a small percentage of the videos put out every year. Who were your favorite wrestlers in 2019? Write your reactions and choices in the comments section. There's no right or wrong and it only takes a few seconds. Just be respectful of my choices and anyone else's. It only takes a second (unless you're using Safari, in which case it likely won't work at all).
Tomorrow, I will award Caveys to my top ten matches of 2019!
Alex
I think Stallion from TA was my favourite wrestler this year. He surprised me with his charisma when I first saw him and he quickly became a go to. Derek Bolt, Mountain and Brendan Byers were also standouts for me this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts. I haven’t seen Stallion or Mountain so that’s great to read. Brendan did win and Derek was definitely in the mix. He was just a little more up and down for me.
DeleteHi, Alex. I agree with you on the favorite wrestler. I've posted my own year end awards on my blog. https://wrsscreencaps.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-400th-post-year-end-awards.html
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I’ll check them out.
DeleteI do feel like Scrappy is a slam dunk. So many matches in so many places and he’s always a stud.
Hi Alex,
ReplyDeleteI always love your End of Year lists so forgive this tardy post. “Pro Crossover” is a cool category… like yourself I enjoy finding these guys who work in the “real” indies crossover in work for “our” videos.
There are a number of Channing Travolta matches on “the” YouTube, he wrestles in Northeast indies as Channing Thomas. I think I have read Brute has stopped wrestling to concentrate on body building and personal training. Joey King seems have stopped doing pro shows unfortunately because he seemed like an up and comer as Jeff Boom. I’d love to see him cut loose a bit more in Thunders (that might get me to buy from Thunders again).
I’m still trying to find Kirk Donahue’s alias on the YouTube indies but I was pleased to see Eliot even getting a shot at the televised “Championship Wrestling from Hollywood”
Scrappy is getting a bit too ubiquitous imho… I saw Dimitri’s match with Krush and I find the man to just be sex on a stick… I usually stick with Cameron’s site and UCW because their prices are reasonable, downloads are quick and I love Cam’s use of indy guys.
Here's to a great 2020 in The Cave!
Thanks for the names. I’ll have to look them up.
DeleteDimitri is amazing. I considered him for a few things and he was my top Besties nominee for Best Debut at BGEast.