Post by EWA Official on Jan 24, 2022 15:55:23 GMT
2021 EWA AWARDS
Another year in the record books. EWA has now been in operation for over 21 years and it's hard to believe that we're continuing on just as strong. 2021 was a challenging year which saw everything from outside entities attacking to groundswell goodwill movements. It was a year of highs and lows, but we emerged out the other side stronger and better than ever. EWA continues to be the standard bearer for what an e-fed should be. We are the measuring stick and everyone else is second rate thanks to the efforts of everyone here. This past year was no exception to that and once again we are so grateful for everything you've done. Now it is time to honor those who truly continue to make us stand out, the incredible members of the EWA roster as voted on by YOU!
ON TO THE AWARDS!
Newcomer of the Year | |
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3rd. | Shannon Moore |
2nd. - Runner Up | Jade Cargill |
Winner | Drew McIntyre |
2021 Newcomer of the Year
DREW MCINTYRE
Few people have risen up the ranks and proven to be a force inside and outside of the ring like Drew McIntyre. He wasn't someone who arrived on the scene with a lot of pomp and circumstance, but instead just showed up, laced up his boots and proved it in the ring. That hard work has paid off as Drew managed to hold gold on more than one occasion in 2021 and it appears he'll continue that trend in 2022 and beyond. Perhaps most importantly, McIntyre was recognized by his peers receiving over 80% of the votes for this honor.
2021 Comeback of the Year | |
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3rd. | Al Snow |
2nd. - Runner Up | Shannon Moore |
Winner | Aliyah |
2021 Comeback of the Year
ALIYAH
This category was hotly contested with each of the top three receiving many votes and a few others also getting some nods. Ultimately though it was the current EWA Women's Champion who pulled through with the victory, as she has many times throughout her reign in the EWA. Aliyah was once part of a pack of talented women but she always stood head and shoulders above the rest. Her return, with a new attitude in 2021 makes her the the right choice for this award. Honorable mentions to Al Snow and Shannon Moore who both came back in big ways to finish out 2021 strong.
Stipulation Match of the Year | |
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3rd. | Chamber of Horrors (All Hallow's Evil) |
2nd. - Runner Up | Unholy Matrimony Match - Chris Sabin vs PCO (King of the Ring) |
Winner | Pure Rules Match - Jamie Noble (c) vs Jeremy Wyatt (MonAnarchy) |
2021 Stipulation Match of the Year
PURE RULES MATCH
JAMIE NOBLE (C) VS. JEREMY WYATT
EWA prides itself on having the best in ring competition anywhere and that is certainly true with all of the matches, but our stipulation bouts are always the most inventive and unique around. This year saw the return of the wild and unpredictable Chamber of Horrors match that received several votes. An EWA first was the "Unholy matrimony" match between Chris Sabin and PCO and even though it came late in the year, it garnered quite a bit of attention. But ultimately it was a match that wasn't about weapons or chaos, but pure wrestling, that scored top honors. Jamie Noble defended his World Championship against a very game Jeremy Wyatt and the Monarch nearly walked out with the gold. Their match will be remembered for years to come.
2021 Singles Match of the Year | |
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3rd. | Adam Page vs Jamie Noble (c) (Red, White & Bruised) |
2nd. - Runner Up | Chris Jericho (c) vs Drew McIntyre (King of the Ring) |
Winner | Adam Page (c) vs Chris Jericho (SLAM! #500) |
2021 Singles Match of the Year
ADAM PAGE VS. CHRIS JERICHO
SLAM! #500
It should be no surprise that some of the best matches this year were EWA World Championship bouts. 2021 saw "Hangman" Adam Page rise to the top of the ranks early in the year and have some an incredible battles with Jamie Noble for the title. The latter part of the year was dominated by Chris Jericho's title reign and while Jericho was often a thief and a cheat, he had quite a few really impressive matches including his absolutely clean title defense against Drew McIntyre and the historic title victory at SLAM! #500, which is why undoubtedly, it ultimately got the most votes.
Tag Team Match of the Year | |
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3rd. | Team Bayley vs Team Daizee (SLAM! 3/14) |
2nd. - Runner Up | Draper & Fowler vs Black Thought LLC (Fight Night) |
Winner | American Wolves (c) vs Draper & Fowler (Summer Stampede) |
2021 Tag Team Match of the Year
AMERICAN WOLVES (C) vs. DRAPER/FOWLER
SUMMER STAMPEDE
Unlike 2020, this past year saw a huge influx in tag teams and incredible tag team action across the board. This was probably the most challenging year of tag matches in a decade. While it would be easy to pick something like that time Al Snow and the basketball took on Doctor Octopus and the theory of relativity, it's important to remember that many tag teams were in the running this go around. Dak Draper and J. Fowler came up more than once and ultimately it was the hotly contested bout between those two and the American Wolves back at Summer Stampede that received the most votes. Incredibly, Dak Draper heads into 2022 as one half of the World Tag Team Champions with yet another partner.
Storyline of the Year | |
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3rd. | Three faces of Su Yung and the various supernatural goings on! |
2nd. - Runner Up | Bo Dallas makes Joey Janela's life a living hell before forcing him to join his Boys! |
Winner | The Masked Mystery Man strikes, putting Jamie Noble, Adam Page and Kevin Owens on the shelf! |
2021 Storyline of the Year
MASKED MAN STRIKES
From the abusive relationship of Bo Dallas and Joey Janela to the sublime paranormal activity of Su Young, there was plenty to think about this past year in terms of storytelling. Ultimately it was Al Snow's backstage masked assaults and the mystery surrounding them that narrowly edged out the rest to become the most talked about angle of 2021. It's perhaps not too much of a shocker, considering just how long the masked man's attacks lasted and it wasn't revealed who was under the hood until the last SLAM! of the year! It was completely out of character for Al Snow, who in his mind spent most of the year feuding and teaming with a basketball, but in reality was orchestrating one of the most heinous attempts to win the coveted SuperBrawl prize.
Feud of the Year | |
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3rd. | Ricky Starks vs Santino Marella |
2nd. - Runner Up | Jamie Noble vs Jeremy Wyatt |
Winner | Drew McIntyre vs Pete Dunne |
2021 Feud of the Year
DREW MCINTYRE VS. PETE DUNNE
Although there were several feuds that got votes, this was mostly a story of one feud. Pete Dunne and Drew McIntyre tore into each other for months on end, with both men battling it out in a variety of hard fought, close call matches. It came to a thunderous crescendo when the two men battled to a bloody mess in the main event of SLAM! inside a steel cage. With over 95% of the votes going toward this rivalry, it's no surprise that it ends up as the 2021 Feud of the Year.
Faction of the Year | |
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3rd. | Bo and the Boys |
2nd. - Runner Up | Black Thought LLC |
Winner | The Boujee Brand |
2021 Faction of the Year
THE BOUJEE BRAND
For the second year in a row the Boujee Brand were able to claim the top faction of 2021. Considering that Aliyah's group disassembled and missed big parts of the year, this is a pretty incredible feat. They just narrowly edged out Black Thought LLC, which also spent some of the year in turmoil but also were quite dominant at points. Bo and the Boys just narrowly takes third with newcomers Worldwide Underground actually scoring several votes for a close 4th place finish. One imagines they might end up with this nod in 2022.
Shocker of the Year | |
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3rd. | Jeremy Wyatt retires Buff Bagwell in a Career Match at Resolutions! |
2nd. - Runner Up | Al Snow is revealed as the mysterious masked man behind the attacks of several wrestlers! |
Winner | The Rock returns on Carlito's Cabana, making his first EWA appearance in almost a decade! |
2021 Shocker of the Year
THE ROCK RETURNS AT SLAM! #500
With many shocking moments and incredible surprises throughout the year, it's hard not to look back at 2021 and think of many moments that left our mouths agape. Buff Bagwell's career was put to rest by one of the new era stars in Jeremy Wyatt signifying the end of an old era. Al Snow's masked reveal caught many off guard in what was already being heralded as the storyline of the year. But it was the return of the "Great One" at the 500th episode of Sunday Night SLAM! that shocked the most people. We hadn't seen Rock in ages and much like Will's return last year, it was truly something to see Bick back in the saddle once again.
RP of the Year | |
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3rd. | The Mans In The Mirror - Santino Marella |
2nd. - Runner Up | Basic Witch Season - Su Young |
Winner | Things Fall Apart - Su Young |
2021 RP of the Year
THINGS FALL APART - SU YOUNG
As always, EWA produces hundreds of incredible roleplays each year. It would be impossible to narrow them down to just three or even call one the absolute best. However this year we have to give credit where it's due, Su Young's compelling multiple personality storyline led to numerous wild RPs and astonishingly she got not one but TWO of the top honors in this category with several votes. Perhaps it was something in the water in 2021 because Santino Marella's "multiple personality" inspired "Mans In The Mirror" came in third! It was a good year to talk to yourself!
RPer of the Year | |
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3rd. | Jon |
2nd. - Runner Up | Corey |
Winner | Will |
2021 RPer of the Year
WILL
It's refreshing to see such a wide variety of votes in this category and many new (albeit old) faces popping up with nominations. Often some of the all-time greats like Jon are overlooked but many felt his work this year, particularly with Santino was some of the best work he's ever done and it's hard not to see why. Likewise, Corey really proved he's probably the best most diverse roleplayer in the EWA taking on a myriad of characters with picture perfect tone and grace. In the end it was Will's Chris Jericho (and friends) that won out. Pretty impressive for a guy who was only supposed to do a one off appearance one year ago.
Event of the Year | |
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3rd. | SLAM! #500 |
2nd. - Runner Up | Red, White & Bruised |
Winner | SuperBrawl XXI |
2021 Event of the Year
SUPERBRAWL XXI
Red, White & Bruised was one of the more memorable events this year, but one should take heed of just how big SLAM! #500 was. Most e-feds barely make 5 shows, but for EWA to crank out 500 episodes of Sunday Night SLAM! is a feat likely not ever to be met by anyplace else. In the end SuperBrawl narrowly won this category again with several other big events getting votes as well including All Hallow's Evil and MonAnarchy. Let's face it, it was a kickass year of events for EWA.
Tag Team of the Year | |
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3rd. | Honky Tonk Man & Jerry Lawler |
2nd. - Runner Up | The American Wolves |
Winner | Dak Draper & J. Fowler |
2021 Tag Team of the Year
DRAPER & FOWLER
Call them the "Low Blows" or "Caged Rage" or perhaps just Dak Draper and J. Fowler, but whatever you call the former EWA World Tag Team Champions, call them "2021 Tag Team of the Year" as they received 3/4s of the votes in this category. It's no surprise as this duo found their way repeatedly into tag team division under different names, different attitudes but ultimately with the same result... Success!
Women's Wrestler of the Year | |
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3rd. | Jade Cargill |
2nd. - Runner Up | Aliyah |
Winner | Su Young |
2021 Women's Wrestler of the Year
SU YOUNG
The women's division continued to grow in 2021 and was probably more competitive than it had ever been. During this 12 months EWA had not one, but TWO Queen of the Ring tournaments, showing off just how diverse and deep the division is. Su Young who garnered a lot of attention for her unique style and character was able to edge out last year's winner, Aliyah. Special mention to Jade Cargill and Alexa Bliss who also got several votes even though they weren't around the entire year. 2022 could be the year for either of them, although one imagines Su Young may be back on the prowl and Aliyah is still in the hunt as well. It should be competitive!
Wrestler of the Year | |
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3rd. | Al Snow |
2nd. - Runner Up | Drew McIntyre |
Winner | Chris Jericho |
2021 Wrestler of the Year
CHRIS JERICHO
This year saw many great wrestlers return and newcomers rise to the top of the pack. In the case of Chris Jericho, he's one of the oldest members of the roster but hadn't been truly active in over a decade. Yet 2021 was his year, constantly making sure he was seen and heard, invigorating the National Championship and then winning the World Championship for a history making 6th time. Jericho's made the most of this past year and has no doubt carved a huge notch into his legacy which is why he likely dominated this voting. Drew McIntyre got several votes as well, proving that he is one to watch out for in the next 12 months and Al Snow's turn to the darkside had some people thinking he'd done enough even though most of it was behind a mask, to have left the biggest impact on the year that was. In the end all that glitters is gold and that gold is Le Champion!