Grapple Theory End Of Year Awards 2022
“Another year gone…and the points stand thus” - Albus Dumbledore
Yes, it’s been 12 months since our first every End of Year Awards and now we’re back and bigger than ever - with EVEN MORE awards to give out.
It’s been an excellent year for British wrestling, rising stars breaking through, new stars being made and established stars showing why they’re the best in the world.
We’ve got plenty of awards to dish out this year and there’s only one place to start…
Wrestler of the Year - Alex Windsor
Windsor has had a frankly mental return year, having made her comeback at WrestleQueendom 4 in 2021. In that time she’s won the RevPro Women’s Championship, Wrestle Carnival ‘Queen of the Carnival’ title, Stardom’s International Princess Championship and had some amazing matches along the way.
She’s been a credit to the scene and it’s frankly insane that no bigger company has planted a huge deal in front of her to sign. Thanks for your amazing work Alex!
Honourable Mentions: Michael Oku, Man Like Dereiss
Best Young Wrestler - Luke Jacobs
Jacobs entered 2022 and primarily a tag team wrestler, but injury to Ethan Allen forced him to go ahead on his own. And bloody hell what a year! RevPro Cruiserweight Champion - ending OJMO’s historic reign - and PROGRESS Atlas Champion (which he’s since dropped), cemented his status as a top tier talent!
Honourable Mentions: Danny Black, Joe Lando, Harley Hudson
Breakout Star - Leon Slater
This is the year that not just BritWres but the world sat up and took notice of Leon Slater! He himself credits Roy Johnson’s Everything Patterned as the show that put him on people’s radars and now he’s had matches at PROGRESS and GCW - truly conquering the world.
The sky is well and truly the limit for Slater.
Honourable Mentions: Ivy, Brady Phillips, Tate Mayfairs
International Wrestler of the Year - Hyan
The Texas native has had a year to remember, a triple crown champion on the US indies, she’s made her debut in IMPACT Wrestling and even headed over this side of the pond to have some amazing matches - most notably at RevPro.
Honourable Mentions: Joel Bateman, Viva Van
International Breakout Star - Kidd Bandit
Debut years certainly don’t get much better than the one Bandit has had! They’ve got the travel the world doing what they love, despite the fact it takes a lot of wrestlers years to make it across the pond. They’ve added something truly unique to the scene and we can’t wait to see what’s next!
Honourable Mentions: Warhorse, Aliss Ink
Tag Team of the Year - Sunshine Machine (TK Cooper and Chuck Mambo)
Despite being a huge part of the British wrestling scene for years and years, 2022 is the year that TK Cooper and Chuck Mambo FINALLY got the rewards that their hard work has deserved.
They got their hands of the RevPro AND PROGRESS tag titles, both won singles belts in their own right and made some truly memorable moments in the ring for both themselves and the fans.
Honourable Mentions: CPF, Boisterous Bois
Match of the Year - Will Ospreay vs Michael Oku, RevPro High Stakes (Reviewer Vote)
“It’s a match that I will never forget. For a night, it felt like the heights of BritWres were back and it was thanks to this incredible story, told over 41 minutes.
“Credit to both Ospreay and Oku, but Amira deserves praise as well for what she brought to the match” - Iwan Mackenzie
Honourable mentions: Charles Crowley vs Clementine (Wrestling Resurgence), Konosuke Takeshita vs Leon Slater (PROGRESS)
Promotion of the Year - NORTH Wrestling
Sell out shows, stacked cards, epic audiences, some fantastic food (by all accounts), NORTH are seemingly doing everything right and are reaping the rewards that their hard work has deserved.
If you haven’t made the jaunt to Newcastle to check them out then you absolutely should!
Honourable mentions: TNT Extreme Wrestling, UKPW
Best New Promotion - Riot Cabaret
London’s newest wrestling promotion, Cabaret had planned to start pre-pandemic but the delay hasn’t held them back. Three shows in the back end of the year showed they mean business; with a unique atmosphere and some excellent booking so far.
Can’t wait to see what they bring in 2023.
Honourable mentions: SovPro, Spectrum
Best Fan Experience - Pro Wrestling East (Reviewer Vote)
Honourable mentions: Sacrifice PW, Futureshock, Ignite
Best Feud - Rory Coyle & Liam Slater, NORTH Wrestling
Travelling back to NORTH for this epic battle that really captured the spirit and soul of the promotion. Years in the making, their epic battle finally came to a close when Liam took the title from Rory to a HUGE response from the crowd.
Honourable mentions: Charles Crowley & Alexxis Falcon (TNT), Spike Trivet and Cara Noir (PROGRESS)
Social Media Star(s) - Charles Crowley and Clementine
The Big Dangerous Scary Mammals are no more (for now) as Clementine takes a break from the scene - we wish her every success moving forward. But over the past year she and Crowley have made us laugh and cry with their amazing promo videos and Crowley has especially done well at annoying his fellow wrestlers (namely Alexxis Falcon and James Greenwood).
Honourable mentions: Gene Munny, Mariah May
Inspiration Award - Hannah Taylor
The reason Hannah Taylor had to stop wrestling has been well documented on social media, but instead of diving into the negative we wanted to highlight how inspirational her story has been.
She’s battled so hard, been so brave and there aren’t enough words to express how truly proud we are of the way she’s fought through all the adversity that’s been thrown at her this year! We love you Hannah!
Power Couple - Ivy and Brady Phillips
There have been plenty of power couples in British wrestling this year but we have to go with two stars who we noted in the honourable mentions for our Breakout Star award.
Both have had amazing years in the ring, collected loads of gold between them and having some brilliant matches. Other couples in BritWres will have to work damn hard to knock them off their perch next year.
Honourable mentions: Jetta and Charlie Morgan, Alexxis Falcon and JJ Webb
Best Merch - Man Like Dereiss (Reviewer Vote)
“I had to break what was a really close run vote but, for me, Dereiss has been super creative with his merch this year and also gone above and beyond to plug it on his socials” - Jamie Walker
Honourable mentions: Sunshine Machine, Smashing Mike
