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2006 YEAR-END AWARDS
New Alberta Pro Wrestling has surprised me repeatedly. I'm proud and excited when I look at the archives and see NINETY-FIVE shows - all except one or two on-time. I search myself for that sense of "burn out" or creative fatigue and it's not there. Why? Because of the great people that have been involved in the fed. Those who wrestle and those who help out with match writing and match decisions. It's not false praise, but reality: NAPW would not exist without the consistent and awesome help I receive. So in the end, NAPW is not "my" fed, it's ours. The community of handlers make NAPW the best e-fed I've been a part of. For my part, I will continue to book logical and intriguing wrestling shows with the usual NAPW organization and timeliness. Enough talk - it's time for the 2006 YEAR END AWARDS. Over a dozen current and past NAPW wrestlers nominated, then voted in each category. Let's get to it.
MATCH OF THE YEAR
1. House of Horrors (Anniversary Assault, 10/31/2006) There were dozens of stand-out matches in NAPW this year, but two stood out the most. In a narrow, one-vote victory, the HOUSE OF HORRORS match from Anniversary Assault edged out the Triangle Ladder Match from Joker's Wild. The HoH concept was created by Allan (Ravager). Inside a steel cage would be all five wrestlers who had wrestled on NAPW's first show exactly one year before. The object? Handcuff an opponent to the cage. The last man not handcuffed would win and have five minutes alone with his imprisoned opponents. The five men? Ravager, D!, The New & Improved D-X (Kyle Roberts & Bruce Richards) and "The Moose" Mark Millar. Lots of bad blood between them all. The match was violent, the concept unique, and while the match itself was at the time overshadowed by the incredible post-match events, the match itself was a well-booked and creative piece of work. The Dudes vs D-X vs The Crimes for the tag titles was a feud that needed an epic blow-off. Taking a cue from The Dudley Boys vs The Hardy Boyz vs Edge & Christan, a ladder match was called for. Each man put his body on the line all to earn NAPW tag team gold. After a mind-blowing, risk-filled match-up... The New & Improved D-X walked (or limped) out the champions. Main eventing Joker's Wild and perhaps just as epic was D! vs Chris Casino: Steel Cage II. It took the men ten minutes to even get INTO the Steel Cage, as they brawled all over the arena. When they got in the ring, it was on. The climax finally came when D! was somehow able to send Chris Casino plunging from the very top of the steel cage into the canvas below with the Nyquil Driver, finally scoring the pinfall to regain the NAPW title. Tied with the cage match in votes was the TAIPEI Deathmatch between Sick Billy Kryenik & Tommy Deathrow. The Doomriders EXPLODED... and the feud could only be finished in a sick FMW style Deathmatch. Fists were coated with tape and glass. Blood? Oh yeah. Brutality? In spades. How about a FIREBALL? How about a FIREBALL! In a match that will probably never happen again in an NAPW ring, Deathrow & Kryenik tried to kill each other. Deathrow in this match kicked out of Kryenik's DRY LAKE finisher - the only man to ever do so, and he did it after a Dry Lake through a table into a sea of thumbtacks! Kryenik was able to avoid the Deathrow Driver, however, and then delivered a second Dry Lake on Deathrow directly into the sea of thumbtacks to finally score the pinfall victory. And that... was the end of the Doomriders. For now. An honorable mention goes out to Rex Caliber vs Devastation II: Last Man Standing where Rex finally won his NAPW Title back from the Hybrid Phenom, and to Yellow Chicken vs Jeff James III: No time limit, no count-out. A stunning display of pure, awesome wrestling action that capped off one hell of a respect feud.
WRESTLER OF THE YEAR
1. D! First the surprise: D! did not "runaway" with this award. But in the end, by a solid margin, D! is the NAPW Wrestler Of The Year. It's difficult to imagine NAPW without D!, even though he is no longer part of the promotion. D! is the only three-time NAPW champion and holds the record for longest NAPW Champion reign. He was involved in epic feuds against The Plague, Ravager, Chris Casino, Devastation, Static and finally "The Lemondrop Kid" Lloyd Rees. He was the very face of New Alberta Pro, representing the fed in the TEAM Champion of Champions tournament... a tournament D! entered as a complete unknown and won. Edmonton embraced D! as their beloved, as "Whyte Avenue's Favorite Son". And then he turned on them all and was run out of NAPW by Simply Beautiful. But that was just the end. The rest? It was a ride, "peanut." Two wrestlers who feuded to close out 2006 tie for second place. Patrick Bickle is perhaps the most unorthodox wrestler to grace an NAPW ring. His reckless, self-sacrificing style and now-legendary Pure Honor title run eventually made him a fan-favorite, a status Bickle embraced (however awkwardly.) To compensate for various injures, Bickle adapted to a more mat-based submission style. In the fall, Bickle won the NAPW Title twice... ...from "The Lemondrop Kid" Lloyd Rees. Let's look at the resume: Made Rex Caliber say "I quit." Won the one-and-only Ketchup Casket match against Stein. Held the Provincial AND NAPW titles at the same time. Lloyd Rees is a one-time Television Champion, Three-Time Provincial Champion (including the record for longevity), and lately a two-time NAPW Champion. Rees won the Provincial Title from Mark Millar in his very first NAPW match and then embarked on a sensational run as one of the most hated men in NAPW history. Cocky, brash, arrogant and with the skills to back it up, there is no denying that Lloyd Rees is not only one of the best wrestlers in 2006, but perhaps the most successful wrestler in NAPW history. The other most successful wrestler in NAPW history? Lloyd Rees' perennial rival... "Perfection" Evan Cartwright. Cartwright debuted as the "enforcer" of the Chris Casino/D-X version of the Rat Pack. He tasted his first title gold as the Provincial Champion, a title he lost to Mark Millar while wrestling against doctor's orders. Cartwright became a tag team champion with Chris Casino and then embroiled in a feud against Rees for the Provincial title. When Casino left NAPW under bad terms, Cartwright picked Sick Billy Kryenik to become his new partner and thus was born the Bi-Polar Express. Cartwright & Kryenik feuded with Rees & The Celtic Assassins for months. After a brief hiatus, Cartwright returned to NAPW and got himself in the thick of the NAPW Championship hunt. Despite coming up short at Anniversary Assault, Cartwright would get another chance at the belt at Black Thursday II. In the final match of 2006 for NAPW, Cartwright at last became the top dog in his promotion. 2007 is looking promising for "Perfection."
FACE OF THE YEAR
1. (tie) D! / The Yellow Chicken In a surprising turn of events, NAPW fans voted to a TIE for the wrestler they loved the most over the year. D! of course, is the perennial fan-favorite - an underdog everyman who said "me too!" and then endeared himself to Edmonton and fans worldwide. He is wrestler of the year for a reason and until his shocking actions at ANNIVERSARY ASSAULT D! was the heart & soul of New Alberta Pro. But fans got behind the inspirational story of Carter Owens AKA The Yellow Chicken. Possessing a worse NAPW record than possibly even Wayne Wright, Carter Owens seemed destined for failure after "The Moose" Mark Millar humilated the man by tar and feathering him. Then? Something strange happened. Owens' entire persona changed to that of "The Yellow Chicken." And improbably, Owens started winning. A lot. In fact, The Yellow Chicken is the sold holder of the longest win streak in NAPW history at a whopping eight straight wins. During that time, The Yellow Chicken won the Television title from Jeff James... and then won the Provincial Title from "The Lemondrop Kid" Lloyd Rees in perhaps the biggest upset of the year. Yellow Chicken's feud with Jeff James resulted in one of the best matches of the year. The Year Of The Chicken. Second only to D! in popularity and deafening pop volume (and only slightly)? "The Nexus One" Rex Caliber. Caliber's blue-collar attitude, work ethic and sheer likeability propelled him to the top of the NAPW. Even when he was teamed with Static in the hated Crimes, Rex had his fans: "The Freaks of Nature" as he called them. It was Caliber's performance in the 2006 Canada Cup that led to the fans truly embracing him, and standing by him through the Month From Hell and on until his career was unfortunately ended by Joseph Winchell, who fired Caliber despite the man's value to NAPW thanks to a personal vendetta. NAPW fans wonder, will they ever see Rex Caliber again? Finally, the late-breaking story of Simply Beautiful. He came into NAPW an arrogant dickwad, feuding with Dez Carter over the Kiniski Cup. But then, SB became focused on representing Pure Honor. He was still arrogant, still cocky, yet the fans came over to his side and SB himself started giving his all in every single match. SB's status as fan-favorite was cemented when Chris Casino returned to NAPW and targeted the man. Although SB was not successful in defeating Chris Casino, that feud solidifed the man's position as one of the top of NAPW's new breed. He is possibly the most popular man in NAPW right now. Where will it take him?
HEEL OF THE YEAR
1. Chris Casino Yep. Landslide. People love to hate Chris Casino. What's not to hate? Chris Casino beat D! for the title in controversial (read: had like eight people help him) fashion to end 2005 and then went on to basically be the biggest dick in all of wrestling. What did he do? What didn't he do. How about, ditching the NAPW belt and fashioning himself a new "Americanized" version? Or calling the fans "Dirty Canadians" at every opportunity? Or bringing in Evan Cartwright to help him be even more of a dick? Or walking out on Cartwright in the midst of a tag title reign? Attacking his former friend and taking the Provincial Title from him? Returning to NAPW in the fall and targetting the popular Simply Beautiful... then CHEATING LIKE NUTS in a PURE HONOR MATCH to win the cup, which he then put on display at his Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas and having a disgusting, LED-screen laden Vegas Pure Honor title belt made up for him? And I mean I'm barely scratching the surface. "The Lemondrop Kid" Lloyd Rees is that rarity in independent wrestling: A great wrestler that has never, ever given the fans any reason to like him. Lloyd Rees is universally hated. He has no "cheering section." He is an asshole through and through, even to his friends and associates. That sneering, evil attitude has earned him a record six different title runs. Rees has not been seen since dropping the NAPW Title to Patrick Bickle in a cage match... but you can bet he will return, and it won't be to tell the fans how much he missed them. Rounding this Trio of Total Bastards? Static. What did he do? Oh, I don't know. Blamed a helpless manager/friend for his losses (yeah right) and then sicced Rex Caliber on him. "POWERBOMB THAT (BLEEP)ER!". Rex's growing popularity saw Static turn face by association, but the jerk behind the mask never went away. Jealous of Rex's success and popularity, Static attacked his best friend with a screwdriver. A SCREWDRIVER. And then he beat him for the title. I mean seriously, what a dick. Static's career in NAPW ended when he lost a Career Ladder match to Patrick Bickle. Static's obsession with beating Bickle (who had no losses to Static but two wins) led to him putting his career on the line... and that was it. To the delight of the fans, Bickle beat Static 3-0 and put him out of New Alberta Pro. And then Static returned at Anniversary Assault for one-night only to wrestle Chris Casino. The crowd cheered for special guest referee Lobo, naturally.
TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR
1. The New & Improved D-X There can be no question in anybody's minds: The best tag team in NAPW for 2006 was The New & Improved D-X. Four-time NAPW Tag team champions, "The Beast" Bruce Richards & Stylin' Kyle Roberts have utterly dominated the division. And when they haven't done that, they've made sure to kick ass somewhere else. Over the course of the year, the fans warmed to D-X, and now the boys are strong fan-favorites. Some critics argue that D-X have lost their edge, pointing to the recent title loss to Celtic Assassins as proof, but there is no arguing about the year D-X had. They are not only the best team in NAPW but very likely all of e-wrestling. No other team has had the continuity, success and consistency they have. All this and entertaining promos galore. That said, there are other teams that have impacted the NAPW tag team division. How about the team D-X could NOT beat for the tag titles? When Casino walked out of NAPW, he left Cartwright holding the tag titles. Kryenik replaced Casino... and to the surprise of many, the makeshift team (dubbed Bi-Polar Express) went on a tear, defending their titles successfully throughout spring and summer until they finally dropped the belts to Delivery Men. Though Kryenik & Cartwright quietly ended their team following the loss, there can be doubt that BPX was the story of spring/summer. They are joined by their friends SEXY ADORABLE DRUNKS. Although never winning tag team gold, the team of Tommy Deathrow & Krusty Kid Paul rocked the body that rocks the party. SAD's greatest moment came at Black Thursday II when Deathrow (and KKP) were revealed to be the new Man In Black, the bane of owner Joseph Winchell's existence. Hott.
MOST IMPROVED WRESTLER
1. The Yellow Chicken aka Carter Owens It was mentioned above, but here it is: The Yellow Chicken went from a 3-10 win/loss record to eight straight wins and double-champion status, holding the Television and Provincial titles at the same time. Chicken significantly raised the profile and value of the TV Title during his title run and feud with Jeff James. The numbers don't lie: Yellow Chicken's complete reversal of fortune marks him Most Improved. One of the great underdog stories is North T. Gunderson. While North has yet to win an NAPW title (five title matches and counting, poor guy), his promo ability and in-ring improvement has translated into more success. North is one of those guys you root for, knowing that he has the potential for a truly break-out performance. Hopefully 2007 sees that happen for the former Thunder. If Yellow Chicken is most improved overall, then credit must be given to a man who became a better wrestler BY wrestling YC. Jeff James entered NAPW as the hot-headed little brother to Thomas Young. He didn't find much success until he upset Mr. Slick for the TV Title. He quickly dropped it to The Yellow Chicken... but the loss became James' gain. He dedicated himself to training and conditioning, choosing to respect his opponents rather than underestimate them. Over a series of matches, James came so close to beating Chicken. Then, he did it. Since then Jeff James has defended his TV Title against all-comers and very nearly defeated the red-hot Sick Billy Kryenik in a non-title match. The sky is the limit for Mr. James in 2007... although I'm not sure how The Royal Foundation feels about that.
BEST OF THE NEW
1. Midnight Cowboys By a margin of two votes, the Midnight Cowboys earned the award "Best Of The New Guys." With only one loss (a DQ) to their record, the Midnight Cowboys have quickly established themselves as a very real, very dangerous threat to whomever the tag team champions may be. With all three Zellor man now on the same page (read: they're going to fight dirty), it is only a matter of time before tag gold is around Stone & Clint's waists. Fittingly, Kurt Castle & Chad Kurtis tied for 2nd place. These two wrestlers feuded for the final month and a half of 2006... and in the process made names for themselves while making each other. 2007 looks bright for both men, with Kurt Castle in the Canada Cup tournament and Chad Kurtis #1 contender to the TV Title. Matthew Kurtis made a few waves himself with tremendous performances in a Battle Royal Challenge and the BTII ACTION! BATTLE ROYALE. He starts 2007 off with a Pure Honor title shot vs Chris Casino. Even if it does not end up being Matthew's time, this is only the beginning for "The Angry American."
BEST DAVID BANKS
1. Henry Winkler. AYYYYYYY!
"c. No! I mean b!" - Jago
ANGLE OF THE YEAR
1. Joey Malone is R. Joseph Winchell III / Joseph takes over NAPW There isn't a single development that had more reprecussions and impact then the reveal: Perennial jobber "Bad Boy" Joey Malone? Oh, he's actually the angry son of Commissioner "Wahoo" Bobby Winchell. And he just bought the company out from dear ol' Da with the help of the Charitable Trust. R. Joseph Winchell III taking over NAPW completely changed the complexion of the fed. It has resulted in, yes, better ratings and more exposure than ever for the fed. But Winchell's inability to keep his personal issues out of how he operates the promotion have seen him fire several great wrestlers (including Rex Caliber) and screw over deserving wrestlers. At the end of 2006, however, it was "Man In Black" Tommy Deathrow (with nine other NAPW wrestlers dressed up as Men In Black) defeating Winchell. The shock of seeing ten different Men In Black seemed to snap Joseph's mind, and he has not been seen since vanishing from his hospital room... Sure, let's book a match at Anniversary Assault between every wrestler who was on the first NAPW show. Okay, great. Ravager wins! Wow --- wtf lights out THE PLAGUE omg WTF WTF? THE DUDES MAKE THE SAVE --- WTF THE DUDES ARE HELPING PLAGUE! OMG OMG! HERE COMES D! HE'LL SAVE THE DAY --- W. T. F. D! leaves Plague alone, assaults Ravager, assaults D-X, assaults the referee, knocks Bill Hewson's head nearly off with a chairshot, even attacks Frank Warburton. Yeah. Just when you thought you couldn't get any more angry, or that you would be numb to any more shocks, D! eats your heart and shits it out because truthfully? He hates you so very much. One week later, he was gone from NAPW... but The Plague was back, and he wasn't very happy with Ravager... Who is the Man In Black? Winchell's obsession with discovering who was reprising HIS old secret identity drove him mad in his attempts to prove Deathrow or KKP (or both) were the MIB. Surprise surprise, Winchell was RIGHT... but he only found that out seconds before Deathrow hit a DEATHROW DRIVER on him. What will the reprecussions be? And where the hell is Winchell, anyways? The Month from Hell was actually almost two months. Rex Caliber, beaten in a bathroom by mysterious assailants. Devastation, taking advantage to beat Caliber for the NAPW Title. And then it was on. Caliber's injuries were severe. Devastation & The Charitable Trust made life living hell for everybody in NAPW, leading to the explosive War Games match. How intense/impacting was the Month From Hell? Well, it lead to Ravager, D!, Static & Rex Caliber (pre crimes split) wrestling on the SAME SIDE. WITHOUT IT BREAKING DOWN. Simply because as much as Ravager hated D!, Static hated Ravager, D! hated Ravager, and Rex was sexy... they hated Devastation more. A wild time in NAPW history.
FEUD OF THE YEAR
1. D! vs Ravager The Feud That Would Not Die. When they weren't wrestling and trying to kill each other, D! and Ravager were taking cheap shots at each other. Sometimes working together. All the while, they hated each other. Ravager even turned the crowd against D! for one match, to the frustration of the man. The point is, that it's not just about how many matches they had against each other or who has the most wins (and it's a fair amount of matches between singles and tag, and D! does hold the edge, but Ravager beat him for the belt)... It's simply the fact that at any given moment, D! vs Ravager could ignite into a blood feud. The tension was never resolved, it simply died down, and one single stray spark could bring it back to life. There is no Joker without Batman, no Lex Luthor without Superman, and almost... no Ravager without D!. It was a feud that could only end with one man leaving NAPW. That man was D!. There is no longer a flip-side to Ravager, only the White-Collar Assassin... D! vs Chris Casino has been discussed earlier in these awards. Casino through nefarious means beat D! for the title at the end of 2005, permanently SCARRING D! in the process. D! vs Casino escalated until their epic cage rematch. There was never a D!/Casino III, and since D! was fired from NAPW, there may never be a rematch. But the feud was amazing. Casino's long-time running buddy and current NAPW Champion Evan Cartwright spent much of 2006 embroiled in a perma-feud with "The Lemondrop Kid" Lloyd Rees. While Cartwright & Rees may not have hated each other in the way D! hated Ravager (and vice versa), the two have had several classic matches against each other. Their paths continued to cross in the fall, when Cartwright began to challenge for Rees' NAPW Title. It's quite the history, marked by a tremendous ladder match at Complete Control and the follow-up submission match. "Your best friend just stabbed you in the eye, what are you going to do next?" Static's jealousy, paranoia and spitefulness led to him not just turning on BFF Rex Caliber, but jamming the business end of a flat-head screwdiver into the bald wonder's dome. Repeatedly. And then taking his title. Rex Caliber vs Static was not a long feud, per se: Static got Joseph Winchell to issue an edict that Caliber could not touch Static and could not challenge for the title so long as Static held it. But for sheer bile and viciousness, few feuds can be matched. With both men out of NAPW, perhaps their friendship can mend - Caliber has offered a beer to his former friend. But is Static even capable of having "friends?"
MOMENT OF THE YEAR
1. D! hits the Nyquil Driver on Chris Casino from the top of a steel cage (Joker's Wild) There are moments in wrestling that are iconic. Images that will be replayed in slow-motion in video packages for years to come. D! Nyquil Driving Chris Casino to the canvas from the top of the cage is one of those moments. In a match that seemed like it might never end no matter what the men did to each other, D! finally beat the house... it just took one of the wildest single moves in NAPW history to do it. Flashbulbs popped, the crowd chanted "HOLY SHIT", and D! won the NAPW Title for the second time. What the hell is The Man In Black doing? What... wait a minute, that's JOEY MALONE! Wait what's he talking about? Wait... he's Joseph WINCHELL? As in, "Wahoo" Bobby Winchell? Holy! For sheer "WTF" value, Joey Malone revealing his "true identity" was one of the biggest moments of the year. The reprecussions from this shock would be huge. You're Patrick Bickle, looking to make your impact in NAPW. You're wrestling Sick Billy Kryenik. What do you do? Climb to the top of a ladder, wrap yourself in barbed wire, and then Freefall from the top onto your opponent. Wow. It was a title victory almost three months in coming. Rex Caliber had endured personal and professional hell from the moment Devastation became #1 contender... and finally, after a sick Muscle Buster to the ring apron, Caliber beat Devastation to regain the NAPW Title. For sheer emotional impact, this was the one.
"WE MISS YOU" AWARD
1. The Delivery Men Hey really, we miss all the guys on this list. NAPW has seen some of the coolest and most entertaining wrestlers come and go over the past 14 months. Delivery Men, Stein, Team MAN, Rex Caliber, Yellow Chicken, The Dudes, CALIBAN~, JC Cook, D!, David Banks, The Decapitators... they're all missed. Maybe some will come back, but they've all left us with memories. Cheers to all y'all.
BEST PPV/SUPERCARD OF THE YEAR
1. Anniversary Assault NAPW's most important show was the one-year anniversary. And just to make sure the celebration was perfect, it was one of the best cards of the year. Yellow Chicken vs Jeff James. Simply Beautiful vs North T. Gunderson. Chris Casino vs Static with LOBO guest referee, JC Cook gets his revenge on Misery at last, the Ring Of Prestige inductions, MR. CANADA~! And of course, the Fatal Four-way NAPW Title and House of Horrors matches. Add on the most shocking ending to an NAPW show ever, and you got Best PPV of The Year. It was a wild concept: Holding an outdoor show in Edmonton in the summer, in the middle of Winston Churchill Square. The matches were huge: Rex Caliber vs Ravager. Stein vs Lloyd Rees. Evan Cartwright vs Carter Owens. And D! having to wrestling first Devastation, then Static in the main event. Of course it didn't work out that way. Riots tend to get in the way of wrestling shows, and the crowd? They rioted after the way Ravager beat Rex Caliber (Read: Winchell interfered and how). The show was continued one night later at NAPW's home of the Polish Hall. It might not have been the most wrestling-intense show ever, but it certainly was memorable. 2006 ended with NAPW's first "sequel" PPV - Black Thursday II. And what a finale to 2006 it was, with Evan Cartwright & Chris Casino standing tall...NAPW and Pure champions respectively. From top to bottom the card absolutely SMOKED and contained no less than four MOTY candidates. Kurt Castle & Chad Kurtis put NAPW on notice with a brutal bullrope match. Casino/SB, Plague/Ravager, Cartwright/Bickle --- all tremendous, top-tier contests. Throw in one hell of an Action! Battle Royale, a great tag title match, and the twisty-turny (and perhaps long-reaching) events of Joseph Winchell vs The Man In Black, and you've got perhaps the best solid WRESTLING card in NAPW history, and one damn fine finish to '06.
WHO IS THE BEE?
1. SAKURA
"Nobody. The bee just is." - Jago
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SAN DIEGO?
1. Fox Creek, Canada
"Right next to me..." - Andrew V.
TOMMY DEATHROW MEMORIAL AWARD"STD Memorial Award I would like to give it to... The Kids. Yes all those little pant pissers." - Tylor AKA "Superstar" Thomas Deathrow
2006 Monthly Award Archives
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