It’s awards season, y’all. We’ve announced the nominees for our “Friend of the Brand” Award and our own “Best of Nashville” Awards. The nominees for the big one – the “SoBro of the Year” are coming later this week. We’re just churnin’ out awards left and right – passing out honors like hot cakes, y’all. But, one thing we wanted to add to this year’s trophy collection was a set of SoBros wrestling awards.
But why?
Why? Well, the easy answer is that we just like wrestling. But, the more complete answer is that our wrestling content has taken a real turn in the last year. We started going to shows because they served as veritable team outings for the SoBros crew. We loved to go get drunk and scream at people. But, the more we popped up, the more we covered, and the more we sponsored, we started making friends. Our friends helped us get more in-depth coverage of SUP and SCI, and that led to greater engagement with the SoBros brand. Our coverage of SCI was by far our most successful content trip yet – we ended up with over 12K engagements, dozens of thousands of social media impressions, half a dozen interviews, a kickass podcast, AND we made 10 fuckin’ dollars because Lane bought a shirt from us.
So, we wanted to honor and celebrate this scene and the people and companies in it.
Okay, so…who?
Of course, Twitter and the various streaming services help us all keep up with who’s wrestling who where, when so-and-so will be in [INSERT TOWN NAME HERE], and so on and so forth. But, our footprint is Tennessee – we’ve covered every Southern Underground Pro show since Maximum Over…dive last August, the last two Scenic City Invitationals, and the inaugural Making Towns Classic. So, it’s completely overreaching for us to call this the “Tennessee Wrestling MVP” award like I initially wanted to, but fuck it – we don’t need to. We also can’t call it the “SoBros SUP, SCI, and MTC MVP Award” because that’s just too clunky and not catchy at all, right? We’re the SoBros Network….we’re just going to call these the “SoBros Wrestling Awards” because we can.
The SoBros Wrestling MVP Award (VOTE)
Dominic Garrini
Garrini kicked off 2018 with a stellar feud with former Bonestorm Champion Curt Stallion. At February’s SUP show, Achy Breaky Heart, Garrini defeated Stallion in dominant fashion to capture the Bonestorm Championship himself. It kicked off a 210-day championship reign. Not only were the Stallion matches fun, but Garrini also had a body of work that featured matches against Jeff Cobb and Wheeler Yuta in SUP this year. He was victorious in both of those contests. If not for a blemish at the hands of Marko Stunt after Garrini had already defeated Yuta, his record would be perfect on the year in SUP.
Brett Ison
Ison had arguably the most dominant year of any wrestler in SUP. He kicked off 2018 by defeating Righteous Jesse in a brutal match at Achy Breaky Heart, before setting his sights on The Carnies. One by one, Ison went through Kerry Awful, Nick Iggy, and Tripp Cassidy over the course of the spring and summer. Heading into September’s Don’t Look in the Basement East, Ison was a perfect 4-0 on the year. Then, he teamed up with O’Shay Edwards to take on The Carnies and A.J. Gray – a match they were victorious in. At the time of this writing, Ison is a perfect 5-0 on the year in SUP.
Allie Kat
Allie Kat remains one of the most popular acts in SUP, as “MEOW” chants rain down over The Basement East every time she steps out from behind the curtain. But, for a woman we’ve called “the heart and soul of SUP,” her body of work in 2018 was impeccable. The feud with “Slutty Kat” Joshua Bishop was a flat out barrel of fun. She had a great showing in this year’s Trick or Treat Battle Royal. But, Allie Kat delivered when things got serious, too – an emotional match with Tripp Cassidy, the first ever women’s match in SUP against Samantha Heights. But, it was her performance the night of the Making Towns Classic at the Nashville Fairgrounds that stands out the most. She could have very well been the MVP of that tournament, though ultimately coming up short in the finals. 2018 was an excellent year for Allie Kat, who continues to show what a dynamic wrestler and entertainer she is.
Kevin Ku
Personally, I don’t think Ku gets the credit he deserves for the 2018 he’s having. Not only did it seem like every time he showed up in SUP he had a different championship from a different promotion, but his record on the year is nearly perfect. Before the loss to Tracy Williams at Don’t Look in the Basement East, Ku was a quiet 3-0 on the year. The matches against Danhausen and Eddy Only were awesome, but the fact that he survived the SUPer Scramble match that featured names such as Craig Mitchell, Gary Jay, Danhausen, Joey Lynch, Jake Parnell, and Mance Warner is most impressive. Ku also had a strong showing at the SCI Futures Showcase this year. He may have the best body of work of any person in the field this year.
Joey Lynch
Is it just me or does it seem like Joey Lynch is in possession of about a dozen different championships since winning the 2018 Scenic City Invitational? No doubt that that tournament win was a pivotal moment for “The King of the Moonsault,” but the road to that trophy was grueling. Lynch defeated Curt Stallion in the match of the night on night one of SCI. Then, he defeated PCO in the match of the night on night two of SCI. He had to defeat Corey Hollis, Gary Jay, and Fred Yehi in the finals to finally capture the SCI trophy. It was a hell of a performance by one of the most exciting wrestlers in the region. But, SCI aside, Lynch has become a major player in Nashville as well – he made his SUP debut back in June, and stole the show with Tyler Matrix. He nearly captured the PWF Heavyweight Title in the SUPer Scramble match at Not Problematic, and he put on a banger with Jake Parnell at Don’t Look in the Basement East. 2018 was an accolade-laden year for Mr. 423.
Marko Stunt
Has anyone had a more red-hot summer than Marko Stunt? Affectionately known as #TheGuy, Stunt had a major coming-out party at the beginning of August. But, his year in SUP started pretty innocuously – he stole the show in a scramble match and parlayed that into a fun feud with Danny Adams. Stunt was over from day one, resonating intently with the SUP faithful. But, when he made the early August trip to Chattanooga and won the SCI Futures Showcase, Stunt clicked on a different level. Next thing you know, he’s showing up at GCW, competing at All In, and building a reputation as one of the most entertaining up and comers in the business. Now, he finds himself as the Bonestorm Champion after defeating Dominic Garrini at the conclusion of Don’t Look in the Basement East. You’d be hard pressed to think of a way that 2018 could be bigger for #TheGuy.
SUP Feud of the Year (VOTE)
- Danny Adams vs. Marko Stunt
- Mr. Brickster vs. Teddy King
- Brett Ison vs. The Carnies
- Dominic Garrini vs. Curt Stallion
- A.J. Gray vs. Curt Stallion
SUP Match of the Year (VOTE)
- Gunner Miller vs. Craig Mitchell (Achy Breaky Heart)
- Mance Warner vs. Kerry Awful (Achy Breaky Heart)
- Brett Ison vs. Righteous Jesse (Achy Breaky Heart)
- Street Fight: Dominic Garrini vs. Curt Stallion (Satisfaction is the Death of Desire)
- Kevin Ku vs. Eddy Only (Streets of Hate)
- Joey Lynch vs. Tyler Matrix (Streets of Hate)
- Jeff Cobb vs. Dominic Garrini (Streets of Hate)
- The SUPer Scramble (Not Problematic)
- They Might Be Giants vs. No New Friends (Not Problematic)
- Kerry Awful vs. O’Shay Edwards (Not Problematic)
- Samantha Heights vs. Allie Kat (Not Problematic)
- Nick Iggy vs. Effy (Not Problematic)
- I Quit Match: A.J. Gray vs. Curt Stallion (Not Problematic)
- O’Shay Edwards & Brett Ison vs. Kerry Awful, Tripp Cassidy & A.J. Gray (Don’t Look in the Basement East)
- Kevin Ku vs. Hot Sauce Tracy Williams (Don’t Look in the Basement East)
If you’re so inclined, vote here.
Other Announced 2018 SoBros Awards
The 2018 “Best of Nashville” Awards
2018 “Friend of the Brand” Award
The 2018 Upstanding Gentleman’s Trophy
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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