2019 Year End Awards

As 2020 is upon us, we look back at 2019 as a year of great triumph for the E-Wrestling Alliance. Many major stars came into prominence during this year and we saw a bit of a "changing of the guard" as several big time players either retired or stepped aside as new athletes stepped into the limelight. This was a theme throughout the year as 2019 saw several big breakthrough moments for many stars, a few old faces leaving and a couple of old faces returning in a monumental way. Most years have ups and downs, but 2019 seemed to be 12 months of continual upward momentum and the future looks even brighter with so many talented wrestlers on the roster. As always thanks to everyone who contributed to EWA's 19th, yes 19th year of success and as we head into our 20th year of operation we look forward to eve more incredible history making moments. Thank you all!




It's hard to call some of these wrestlers rookies, when they have spent a lot of their careers in the industry, but they were for all intents and purposes rookies within the EWA landscape. This category was dominated by MJF with over 90% of the vote going to him. A nice nod to second place with Chad Gable only participating in a couple of matches in 2019 but still managing to make an impact.




This was a hotly contested category with a lot of votes being spread amongst many candidates. Ultimately we saw the first ever Women's Hell in a Cell take a narrow third place spot, while the vicious World Title Texas Death Match came in second. Finally the winner was a bit unfair as the 3 Stages of Hell was technically 3 different stipulation matches in one. No doubt helping it come in as the highest voted in this category.




Traditionally this award is won by a match that is physical, brutal and a test of wills between two top athletes. Undoubtedly the third place runner up, was just that, with the second place match also being a physical encounter. But the winner this year was a match that was a bit more humorous, as Colt Cabana and Santino Marella fought in a battle that had relatively high stakes and plenty of side headlocks. Certainly a non-traditional pick that narrowly edged out the competition.




There were a lot of incredible tag team bouts this past year, but the top match was an interpromotional, intergender six person affair, with the Horde's Ember Moon, Reaper and Marty Scurll taking on Sasha Banks and two Japanese legends in the Great Muta and Masato Tanaka. It was a unique match that created a magic moment on pay-per-view and also presented the first crack in the seemingly impenetrable armor of the Horde as a group. Runner ups included four of the best tag teams from 2019 as the Kings of Wrestling battles British Strong Style and the Briscoes went to war with the Glorious Bs.




Every year there are a few breakout stars who just sort of pop up one day and begin to turn heads. Whether it's a major impact with a huge victory or unique storylines, these characters are often oddballs but are superstars who really shake things up. This year's crop includes Sasha Banks, who is not a "He" at all, but spent a good portion of the year trying to prove the same of Bradley. Runner up was the gristle and greased veteran Tim Storm who made a big impact in a short time. But the winner is one of several "backwoods" wrestlers who made an impact in 2019. None have etched their name into infamy quite like Harper, as the Goatsman not only racked up some impressive victories throughout the year, but managed to surprise everyone and become EWA World Champion in SuperBrawl this year!




We always have a lot of wild stories throughout the year, but Sasha Banks increasingly obsessed desire to expose Bradley as her former friend Bayley took top honors. Marty Scurll using The Horde to cement his control over the EWA before eventually learning to stand on his own two feet was the runner up with Buh Buh Ray Dudley finding validation through the Flamingo Family and winning the National Title twice just behind it!




This year all three of the top ranked feuds tell stories of tragedy and triumph, with twists, turns and various levels of carnage (both mental and physical) along the way. The rivalry between Sasha and JoJo, over Bradley, came in a close third after already scoring some trophies elsewhere. Samoa Joe and Pete Dunne captured the stipulation match of the year and very nearly won feud of the year, if not for the World Title rivalry between Dunne and Scurll that eventually saw fans turn their backs on Dunne and embrace the Villain! Talk about an incredible rivalry!




This category was split between handlers and the characters they handle. Ultimately Harper's ability to rise from the middle of the pack to the top of the heap made him far and away the most improved. MJF's steady rise to the top also showed that a lot of people believed he'd improved a lot since his early feud with Luchasaurus and JoJo, although a decorated champion, proved that she could main event pay-per-view programs, which was definitely a worthy improvement.




Perhaps because 2019 saw them go to prison, the bWo just narrowly avoided being on this list, after appearing for the past several years. Instead third place went to the British Strong Style, as this UK contingent were competitive in a variety of divisions and Pete Dunne captured the World Championship. 2nd place went to the Flamingo Family who didn't necessarily do a lot of "traditional" stable activities but they did help Buh Buh Dudley become a breakout star in 2019. The winners though, were quite simply the most dominant stable in the past year, The Horde. This group saw many ebbs and flows, with several points seeing numerous strong members and at times, they were nothing more than glorified hired help for Marty Scurll. Regardless of what shape the Horde took throughout the year, there's no denying their impact and that's why they garnered over 70% of the vote.




There were plenty of surprise moments in 2019 but Big Show getting struck by lightning while holding Scott E. and absorbing the lawn flamingo's personality to become Show E. was hands down the winner in this category. I don't know what that says about the EWA, but the moment was certainly SHOCKING! Desperado Joe Gomez defeated 4 out of 6 members of The Horde in a handicap match to provide another shocker whilst Marty Scurll successfully cashing in his Civil War contract minutes after Brock Lesnar won the World Title for a third time came in last place.




With so many lengthy, incredible roleplays throughout the past year, all three of the top voted RPs this year, were not long sprawling epics. They were shorter, concise, well told stories. MJF's "Thanks Gramps" really graduated that character to the next level, while Marty Scurll's "Coming Clean" helped Scurll pivot directions. But Pete Dunne's "H O M E" proved that although this is the type of story that could very easily be told for cheap effect, Jon is a master at using a deft hand and creating a memorable bit of writing. Kudos to all the winners in this category and to everyone who wrote a throughtful, artistic piece of roleplaying this year.




2019 was a proving ground for old and new roleplayers alike. This category was hotly contested with only a few votes separating all three men and several other votes for other handlers just past the cusp. Top honors go to Craig who handled a variety of different characters and had a memorable run with Marty Scurll on top. Jon proved he can handle comedy and serious wrestlers with major skills this past year and came in second, while Jared's time with MJF undoubtedly helped him get a well deserved third runner-up spot.




An event that almost killed me personally, SuperBrawl XIX proved that sometimes you CAN teach an old dog new tricks as SuperBrawl was revamped in a "Free-For-All" format that freshened things up in a major way and that was reflected in the voting. Second place went to one of the EWA mainstays, Red, White & Bruised continues to be a tradition and just narrowly in the rear was King of the Ring which has seen a great resurgence in recent years.




Looking at the top three teams, you'd think that EWA didn't have much of an active tag division this year, but the truth is actually the opposite. Throughout the year we saw a ton of great teams compete in the division and the fact that these three teams ranked so highly is a testament to their unique personalities as much as anything that was done inside the squared circle. The winners, Lawler and Honky Tonk were never even directly defeated for the EWA Tag Titles, with only one of them losing the belts in the controversial SuperBrawl match.




The women's division heated up this past year in a big way, with several women competing in high profile matches, headlining pay-per-view events and new ground being broken. Sasha Banks won this vote by a fair margin and its no doubt in part due to the fact that she made herself a part of a lot of key moments throughout the calendar year. JoJo held the gold and managed to beat back several opponents who seemed certain to defeat her and with Bradley at her side she was unstoppable at one point. Speaking of unstoppable, Charlotte Flair and her Dominion group managed to truly push the envelope throughout the year with Flair proving to be incredible between the ropes and vicious on the microphone.




I don't think it's any surprise who the top three singles wrestlers of 2019 are, as all of these men had memorable moments as top stars this past year. Perhaps their ranking may come as a surprise as Dunne held the World Championship while MJF just carved out his own path but theres no denying both of those men deserve their spots on the list. The winner, Marty Scurll, had a large margin of victory and seemed to be overwhelmingly voted by the EWA fans as the top superstar of 2019. With Scurll and MJF set to clash on the first supershow of 2020 it makes us wonder just who will take this top honor in 12 months time!