What a great year 2010 was for pro wrestling in the Midwest. Shows throughout the Midwest showed a steady growth in an economy that is struggling.
The biggest companies in the World, WWE and TNA both had pay per views in the Midwest. Fans were able to meet the stars at TNA’S fan fest. The ST Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame honored Dory Funk JR, Bobby the Brain Heenan and Baron von Raschke with their inductions to the hall of fame during the celebration.
Wrestling returned to Kansas City in a big way when Metro Pro Wrestling debut at the historic Memorial Hall with special guest Tommy Dreamer and a TV deal on Metro Sports. Led by former WWE Superstar Trevor Murdock, the Metro roster has to step up their game if they are to be the best if they are to stand out of the 3 time WWE Tag Team Champions shadow.
We were happy to add New Midwest Wrestling to our coverage area.At MWR we have seen some of the NMW talents in past in Dan the Man and Ryan Phoenix but we quickly saw that Bobby Houston, Eric Logan and NMW Champion Jonathan Magnus are just a few that are worthy of seeing in action as well.
Once again we were able to enjoy another great PWE show at the Lincoln Balloon Festival. PWE later in the year saw Donovan Ruddick and Mason Beck go up against the fun lovin former WWE Star U-Gene and the Mississippi Madman.
We were able to see PWP get out of the grasp of the Murder Militia in a classic War Games match while on the other side of the state 3XWrestling continued their standard of providing the fans with great wrestling and an up and close look at their great website including the monthly Outside the Ring program.
In ST Louis MMWA-SICW was the 2009 MWR Promotion of the Year, but they did not rest on their laurels. They continued to train young wrestlers while bringing in some of the very best in Mark Sterling and Mike Sydal, fans where also thrilled to see old favorites return like Danny Boy and Ron Powers.
AAPW had one of the very best feuds in the Midwest with Shane Rich turning his back on his good friend Edmund “Livewire” McGuire.
NWA Dynamo has brought back some of the GCW flavor and packed the house in a great show in the summer with Pete Madden and Mike Sharona going to war with Nikki Strychnine and Makaze in the main event.
HVW had a slow year but was proud to boast that HVW Original Santana G had made her way to Florida with a great opportunity to valet on Spike TV for TNA with Orlando Jordan.
World League Wrestling is primed to be at their very best with the young talent training at the Harley Race Wrestling Academy. Don’t be surprised to see the talents of Jason Jones, the Cancun Kid, Lucy Mendez, Jack Gamble, Brian Breaker and Ethan Wright hold titles throughout the Midwest and beyond in the near future.
IHW proved that they were one of the best with entertaining shows that grew more and more fans each time. Brandon Aarons has turned into the one of the biggest fan favorites in all of the Midwest. Eric Allen and Sean Vincent would test the skills of the rising young star.
MECW mixed hometown flavor with a dose of Windy City Wrestling, including former WWE Star Mike Anthony and the one and only Bailey Mannix along with teen heart throb Evan Money.
IWA Unlimited provided the fans of Olney Illinois with free wrestling each Wednesday. High flying and hard hitting action gave the wrestlers a chance to improve their skills in a great environment.
IWA Productions packed the house with special guest The Honky Tonk Man but it was the local fans that stole the show when Christian Rose and Danny Cannon tore the roof off the place.
NWA Supreme shows may not have that many shows but the ones they did have where filled with some of the best stars locally and nationally.
MWR wrestlers have been active working to get to the top. Mike Sydal was announced as the 2009 PWI Rookie of the year while Midwest stars Mark Sterling, Ace Hawkins, Brandon Espinosa all made appearances with Ring of Honor.
The fans and friends of Barry Ryte showed their support for their guy after he was diagnosed with cancer causing him to back out of the 2010 ECWA Super 8 tournament. Barry has shown in the ring that he has the heart of a champion, and that fighting spirit has helped him It has been announced that he has been cleared to wrestle in 2011. If we had an inspirational wrestler of the Year he would have won hands down.
Fans were blessed to have the Champion of the World Tyler Black make their way to their hometown as Tyler Black met Jeremy Wyatt at 3Xwrestling in Des Moines Iowa, while in Illinois Black went one on one with Brandon Aarons.
This fall word got out that the Future Donovan Ruddick had made his way to Florida with a developmental contract for WWE. He joined the before mentioned Black who has since lost his title to Roderick Strong but we all know the best is yet to come for Tyler Black.
I hope that you have enjoyed the coverage of all of your favorite promotions. It is with the hard work of Dubray Tallman, Mike Van Hoogstraat, Bill Smith, Gary Giaffoglione, Matt Murphy, Greg Anthony , Dartallion Allen, Mark Campos, Josh Ray and Rob Schamberger that makes the site what it is today.
We would like to thank the promoters and wrestlers that support the site for the past three years.
Last but not least thank you so much to the fans of pro wrestling in the Midwest. Take the time to see a wrestler before they become the next Superstar.
On January first we were proud to announce that Mike Chapman was named as the 2010 MWR Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. For more info on Mike Chapman click here.
Now with further ado I give you the 2010 MWR yearly awards.
2010 Wrestler of the Year
Mike Sydal-
Mike Sydal (Photo Credit Scott Finkelstein)
The wrestler of the year was a close vote this year as the surge of Mark Sterling coming within votes to be named for the second year in a row for MWR Wrestler of the Year. Meanwhile Donovan Ruddick had a great push thanks to great performances in 2010 against Dave Vaughn, Mephisto, and the Mississippi Madman. Hard work would pay off for Ruddick as the opportunity that many felt was long overdue, came to pass when he was signed to the WWE developmental contract late this fall. Jeremy Wyatt and Trevor Murdock both garnered several votes thanks to what many voters voiced their respect for each of these men. Last but not least just on the outside of the voting range was Brandon Aarrons who and his former tag team partner Brandon Espinosa .
Mike Sydal toured the country in 2010 wrestling in matches each and every week. Promoters loved him, fans cheered him and the country noticed. His hard work and dedication combined with a true desire to improve earned made him the second wrestler that took part in the WLW/Noah camp that won the PWI Rookie of the Year.
Sydal was just getting started, during Wrestlemania weekend he was in California wrestling with Ring of Honor. He would continue wrestling with Ring of Honor training at their training center before making appearances on Direct TV’S HDNET against Tyler Black, Christopher Daniels and more.
In the fall Sydal returned to much fan fare. At Metro Pro Wrestling, Rock and Roll Mike Sydal was once again on TV with Metro Pro Wrestling against the former WWE Tag Team Champion Trevor Murdock.
At 3XW he was involved in one of the most emotional matches of the year when he was force to face “The Unbreakable” Zach Thompson. Thompson defeated his High Flyers’ partner Mike Sydal following a Dublin Driver in a very emotional and hard fought Loser Leaves 3XWrestling match set up by 3XW Commissioner Todd Countryman in May. Fans rejoiced when Thompson overcame the odds to defeat Brian Ash in November to allow Sydal to once again return.
Throughout the year of 2010 Sydal popped up just about everywhere good wrestling could be found.
Sydal has earned the respect of his peers and promoters and it showed in the 2010 in the final vote. Out of 14 awards committee voters the lowest Sydal got were 16.
We would like to congratulate Mike Sydal as the 2010 MWR Wrestler of the Year.
First Runner up- Mark Sterling
Second Runner up- Donovan Ruddick
Third Runner up- Jeremy Wyatt
2010 MWR Tag team of the Year
Attitude Inc. (Guy Smith, Spencer Powers, and Michael Shard)
- New Midwest Tag Team Champions : Attitude Inc – Spencer Powers, Michael Shard and Guy Smith
Attitude Inc is a flashy tag team that has electrified the ring at New Midwest Wrestling for the past year. All three men are former NMW Heavyweight Champions who have come together and found success. Like the Freebirds, Attitude Inc have mixed partners to their advantages. Their success and talent has won over the awards committee.
At the start of the year they dismantled the faction the Sin Club of Steve Bishop, Dave Parker and Dareian Frost in impressive fashion.
In July the they outlasted the tag teams of Logantyre (Eric Logan and Justin McEntyre) , The New Immolare (Tom Arson and Ryan Phoenix) and the Full Metal Jackals( Danny Cannon and Alex Castle) in an exciting four way match to win the NMW Tag Team titles.
In consecutive months of October and November they defeated the up and coming tag team the Full Metal Jackals (Danny Cannon and Alex Castle) to retain the NMW Tag Team Titles.
Though Attitude Inc has their hands full with the tag team of the Uninvited (Rip Mystic and Tom Arson) heading into 2011, the team can hold their head up high that MWR has named them the 2010 MWR Tag Team of the Year.
First Runner up- Gentleman’s Club- Devin Carter and Casanova
Second Runner up- Steve Fender and Mark Sterling
Third Runner up – The Hooligans -Devin and Mason Cutter
2010 MWR Female of the Year
Amy Hennig
- Amy Hennig (Photo Credit Bill Smith)
The current World League Wrestling Women’s champion has been dominate in 2010. Hennig has trained at the Harley Race Wrestling Academy and has all the tools to make it to the top of the wrestling world.
Matches with Lucy Mendez, Santana G and Angelus Layne were must see matches in 2010.
You can catch her brother Joe every Monday night on WWE, do not miss the chance to see her in the Midwest while you still can.
First Runner up -MsChif
Second Runner up- Santana G
Third Runner up- Lucy Mendez
2010 MWR Promotion of the Year
3Xwrestling
3XW’s fifth year proved to be the best yet, featuring a mix of incredible wrestling, packed crowds, strong business relationships within the community, and a continuing commitment to charitable efforts.
Despite the common perception that interest in wrestling is on the decline, 3XW enjoyed consistently growing crowds throughout the year, routinely packing the Des Moines Social Club each month for events thanks to a loyal – and growing – following and strong television, radio, print and word-of-mouth advertising, not to mention the most talented roster of wrestlers in the entire Midwest.
This past July, 3XW also had the honor of being the last wrestling promotion to hold matches in historic Veterans Memorial Auditorium, a building with 55 years of wrestling history. The athletes of 3XW competed in the same building that NWA affiliates, particularly Central States, held matches years ago, not to mention some major WWE/WWF/WCW moments.
3XW’s webshow, Outside the Ring, enjoyed an increasing number of views, as did 3XWrestling.com, which was visited by thousands of fans each month.
First Runner up- Independent Hardcore Wrestler
Second Runner up- MMWA-SICW
Third Runner up- Metro Pro Wrestling
2010 MWR Match of the Year
Jeremy Wyatt vs. Tyler Black – 3XW – April 2, 2010
Spring Showdown at 3Xwrestling was a monumental night of pro wrestling featuring one of the top wrestlers in the Midwest proving to the world that he could hang with the Champion of the World.
The two wrestled to a 30-minute time limit draw in an incredible wrestling match that earned a standing ovation from the crowd after the final bell. The last minute of the match saw referee Jeromy Robb inadvertently get crushed in the corner by both men and fall to the canvas. Black quickly nailed Wyatt with a tremendous reverse brainbuster and covered him for the pin, only there was no ref to count the pin. As Black was checking on the ref in the corner, Wyatt slowly rose to his feet and grabbed Black from behind, slamming him hard with his patented Kansas Tumbleweed (Lightning Spiral) and covering him for the pin with 20 seconds remaining, only for the ref to still be out. Wyatt screamed and pleaded for the ref to get up to no avail and he even counted the pin himself. The time then ran out before a winner could be determined but the fans gave a standing ovation.
First Runner up- MECW November 20, 2010 – Bailey Mannix vs. Eric Allen – 30 Minute Ironman Match
Second Runner up- The Mississippi Madman vs. The Future Donovan Ruddick with MR Late Nite at Pro Wrestling Epic August 28th, 2010 Lincoln, Illinois
Third Runner up- Danny Cannon vs Christian Rose ladder match from IWA Productions OCC show in January 2010
For a complete list of nominations sent from fans, promoters and wrestlers around the Midwest click here.
