So Who Got Screwed in the Awards Nominations?

From Larry   This is not to cast aspersions on my fellow committee members. We reached a consensus in every category. The competition was fi...

From Larry 

 This is not to cast aspersions on my fellow committee members. We reached a consensus in every category. The competition was fierce. Tough decisions had to be made. Deserving people and promotions inevitably don't make the ballot. 

We all have our biases, I'm sure you will recognize some of mine in the list. 

1. Classic City Wrestling -- sold out the 40 Watt Club every time, electric shows with great booking, successfully ran three other venues including Nashville and did not get a promotion of the year nomination. If not for the phenomenal  Sean Legacy/Najasism match and Suge D's promo, CCW wouldn't have been on the ballot at all.

2. Top Team (Jay Lucas & Terry Yaki) -- They made regular appearances for ACTION Wrestling and CCW and had a match at ROH. Terry Yaki was one of my nominees for the best technical award. Jay Lucas killed it in two SHW appearances. 

3. Alex Kane - It's crime the forever MLW World Champion did not get a spot on the ballot after the year he had. He had great matches everywhere he went, and unlike some past years, he wrestled for a plethora of Georgia promotions. 

4. Deep South Wrestling -- They got the promotion of the year  nomination but that was about it. Skrilla was the 2023 Wrestler of the Year and isn't on the ballot. A strong case was made for a booker nomination for Eric Adamz. The knock is on DSW is they don't charge admission but their Sunday shows at New Realm are a happening.

5. RIPW -- In a normal year, if that exists, RIPW would have been represented somewhere. Renegade is providing an important platform for rising talent and some of the most creative matchmaking to be found anywhere. With rumblings of big things happening for them, 2025 could be their year. 

6. A. J. Black and Stan Robinson -- These cousins from a famed West Georgia wresting family both had tremendous years.   Black is only 18 but did not qualify as a rookie. He improved as much as anyone in the state but didn't make the ballot in that category either. With Robinson as the booker/promoter, Premier All-Star Wrestling had the best year in their existence. They ran three different towns with many crowds in the 200 range and better talent.

7. Anthony Rivera -- Georgia has an abundance of top notch referees. Rivera's work has improved greatly and he reffed a ton of shows for many different companies but still couldn't crack the top five.

8. ProSouth Wrestling -- a predictable thing for me to say, right? The precedent for out-of-state nominations was set years ago. But ProSouth upset the good ole boy applecart last year with all those nominations and awards. Then ProSouth screwed themselves with that ugly chat leak, and the promotion cleary did not have as a strong a year as they did in 2023. That said, the Georgia wrestling scene has no female presence comparable to Amy Haven. Her acceptance speech at was one of the highlights of last year's awards show. Ace Haven books 50+ shows a year and the creative team's well of ideas never seems to run dry.