2020 Cavey Awards: Wrestlers

Welcome to the sixth annual Cavey Awards!

Review: Chase Addams vs. Kayden Keller (BGEast)

It’s one thing to be a heel. It’s quite another to be the “top heel”. By its very nature, a heel vs. heel battle ranks the nasty boys on toughness, smarts and skills. I said the same thing in my last two reviews of Kayden Keller, battles against Brendan Byers and Rolf Fulton, using them to rank three of BGEast's bad asses. Now, Kayden is back facing Chase Addams, both guys putting their “top heel” aspirations on the line. Wow, Kayden sure isn’t ducking anyone, is he?

It's go time for the top heels.

Review: Kayden Keller vs. Rolf Fulton (BGEast)

You know, I really do like this Heel Bash series at BGEast. There's something fun and exciting about the whole thing, especially since at BGE, heel is usually synonymous with toughness and winning. There are a few babyface tough guys, but for the most part, the studs who dominate the matches are the ones who push the envelope, bend the rules and show contempt for rules and societal norms. And the series also answers those "who's the better heel" debates. Who are the real heels and who should stick to picking on prettyboys?

One guy gets some redemption.
One guy gets exposed (metaphorically) as a faux heel.

Review: Brendan Byers vs. Kayden Keller (BGEast)

Is there anything better than seeing two big heels put their pride on the line against each other? Maybe, but it's definitely one of those storylines that I love. Well, I'm starting 2020 with a couple of big BGEast heels. This Heel Bash 3 match is a few catalogues old (137, we're on 140 now), but my research for my 2019 Besties ballot reminded me about it and that I never reviewed it.

Big boys doing big boy things.

Review: Calvin Haynes vs. Kayden Keller (BGEast)

I almost never read catalogue descriptions before I buy. Maybe at new places, but not from my usual haunts. I appreciate the effort that goes into writing them, but I just don’t find them all that useful. Too often, I’ve been either spoiled or duped. And so, I clicked play on Calvin Haynes vs. Kayden Keller with very little information, except for the series title. Even that wasn’t a ton of help because it’s an Undagear video which is one of the least defined series at BGEast.

Calvin and Kayden hook up.

July 4th 2018.

I've come to learn that there are a few iconic things about July 4th, US Independence Day. Flag-related showiness. Barbecuing. And fireworks. As I thought about what to post this year, I've done the flag thing before. I couldn't figure out how a food topic is relevant. Then I realized that wrestling has its own type of fireworks. I can celebrate with those.

So here you go ... wrestling fireworks. Dig in!

Matches can start with fireworks.
(Bruno LaBestia vs. Ty Alexander - BGEast)

Or end with them.
(Ethan Slade vs. Santiago - MBW)

Review: Kayden Keller vs. Richie Douglas (BGEast)

Now that I know who Richie Douglas is, I decided I'd try another match. The Calvin/Richie match is the only one I'm interested in from the latest catalogue, so it's actually a perfect chance to look backwards. Of all the options, the most appealing was his recent match against lanky heel Kayden Keller.

So far, I've enjoyed Keller's Spotlight. Both the one-sided assault Carter Alexander’s exquisite abs and the dominant performance against feisty jobber Kirk Donahue were winners in my book. Can this make for a rare trifecta?

Can Richie Douglas steal Kayden's Spotlight?

Review: Carter Alexander vs. Kayden Keller (BGEast)

When I saw Carter Alexander vs. Kayden Keller, I was really excited. Carter's competitive match against Kid Karisma won my Cavey for Best Outdoor match in 2016. However, surprisingly, this is completely one-sided and focused entirely on ab attacks. I assume it would've been a Gut Bash and was maybe filmed as such.

The question is, did I like it? Will you?

Carter lies down for Kayden's relentless ab attack.

Review: Kayden Keller vs. Dylon Roberts (BGEast)

BGEast is out with another group of matches. Demolition 21 is the only video that caught my eye. It features Kid Karisma (Joe reviewed it here) and Flash LaCash in full heel mode. However, Kayden Keller vs. Dylon Roberts is the match I decided to watch and review first.