Grapple Theory’s End of Year Awards 2021

2021 has come to an end and it’s been a bumper return for BritWres.

To celebrate we’ve taken a look at the year’s best and brightest and handed out our first ever end of year awards.

Also, keep your eyes peeled as later this month we’ll be publishing our ‘Ones to Watch in 2022’ article.

Wrestler of the Year - Lizzy Evo

2021 has been a remarkable year for the Scouse superstar! She came into it the year with gold already round her waste, in the form of the TNT Extreme Championship, and added the PCW and Catch Pro titles to that list.

The triple-crown champion put on some incredible displays since wrestling returned and one particular feud saw her co-claim another award on this list - more on that later.

Lizzy also debuted on both Progress and NXT UK this year, a real sign that she’s broken out of the northern scene and into the nationwide spotlight.

We can’t wait to see what 2022 hold for her!

Honourable Mentions: Luke Jacobs, Alex Windsor, OJMO

Best Newcomer - Lucia Lee

Newcomer is a word we’re using loosely this year, due to the pandemic halting things for much of 2020 and 2021.

So, we’ve decided for ‘Best Newcomer’ to include 2019 debutants and we can think of no better winner than Lucia Lee.

The pandemic really halted the progress Lee was making but she’s come back fighting and shown that she’s going to be one of the scene’s best in a couple of years time.

Honourable Mentions: Tom Thelwell, Rebecca Reznor

Best Tag Team - Lykos Gym

One of the best and most hard-working duos of 2021, Lykos and Lykos II have put on some incredible matches, captured Progress tag team gold and made sure they’ll be ones to watch in 2022.

Contests against NWS, Crashboat and Aussie Open put them in the upper echelons of BritWres tag teams and despite losing the Proggy titles they seem destined for bigger and better things.

Honourable Mentions: Young Guns, Kings of the North

Most Improved - Man Like Dereiss

Again, the term ‘improved’ must be taken with a grain of salt, simply because Dereiss was superb in the ring even before 2021.

But this year has seen him booked and wrestling more than ever before, taking his experience and ability to whole new levels.

Like Evo, Dereiss debuted in Progress this year and has been a prominent feature of its programming on the WWE Network.

Honourable Mentions: Danny Black, Warren Banks

Best Match - Aussie Open vs Destination Everywhere, Rev Pro: High Stakes 2021

Truthfully, there were any number of matches we could have put on this list but it’s no surprise that many of the choices we had on our list contain the Aussie pairing of Davis and Fletcher.

This match at High Stakes was an absolute war which saw both team go hell for leather over the Rev Pro Tag Team Titles.

An encounter for the ages, Aussie Open came out on top but the Destination Everywhere pair of OJMO and Connor Mills showed why they are two of the best this country has to offer.

Honourable Mentions: Chris Ridgeway vs Jonathan Gresham (Wrestle Carnival), OJMO vs Mike Bailey (Rev Pro)

Best Feud - Lizzy Evo vs Alexxis Falcon, TNT Extreme Wrestling

A feud that stretches all the way back to before lockdown, there was fear that the rivalry would lose it’s edge following a year without in-ring action.

But, if anything, the time away aged this feud like a fine wine. When wrestling return the pair were immediately at each other all to claim the TNT Extreme Women’s Championship and be the face of the promotion.

In 2021 alone the two competed in a Falls Count Anywhere contest and Two out of Three falls match, all culminating in a mega Ironman match at Cold Day in Hell.

Falcon was victorious in the contest, another contender for our match of the year, to finally claim the belt. This was a rivalry for the ages.

Honourable Mention: Aussie Open vs Young Guns (Rev Pro)

Best Promotion - Catch Pro Wrestling

Again we’ve used a grain of salt to decide this one as Catch could’ve also been part of our ‘best new promotion’ category. In the end we decided a ‘new promotion’ needed to have its debut event this year.

So back to our topic, Catch had one solitary show in 2020 before the pandemic halted events. It was always going to be interesting to see how the Manchester-based company came back into the game and the answer was…with aplomb.

Catch have been putting on fantastic cards, with excellent up and coming talent and have even expanded to add a Monday night show to their repertoire.

2022 is set to be a huge year for Catch and we are so excited for it.

Honourable Mentions: TNT Extreme Wrestling, Wrestle Island, NORTH Wrestling

Best New Promotion - Wrestle Carnival

Four events in a debut half year is absolutely crazy for a new promotion, even with someone as experienced as Gary Ward at the helm, but WC have pulled it off in style.

Some brilliant shows mixing the UK’s best new talent with some extra experience from both at home and abroad.

They’ve even put on two more match of the year contenders when they brought Jonathan Gresham and Jordynne Grace over to face Chris Ridgeway and Alex Windsor respectively.

Honourable Mentions: Jurassic Pro Wrestling, Spirit Pro Wrestling

Best Referee - James Greenwood

We can’t just admire the wrestlers in the ring, those in the black and white stripes also deserve credit for overseeing so many brilliant contests.

This year we’ve awarded best ref to James Greenwood, the man who has taken charge of some of this year’s biggest matches in the north of the country.

In all honest there were so many refs we could have put on this list but Greenwood has been constantly been praised on social media for his work.

Honourable Mentions: All Other Refs (you’re all doing amazing work)

Funniest Moment - Into The Munny-Verse

Wrestling Resurgence also made their return this year and, as usual, the consequences were theatrical, comedic and artistic mastery,

One of the highlights of their return show was the Into The Munny-Verse match, which saw the real Gene Munny go up against Jurn Simmons and Visage - both of whom were also Gene Munny.

It was a match that only Resurgence could have put on and is just utterly bonkers in its thinking and execution.

Biggest Shock - Cara Noir’s Heel Turn at Resurgence

Two awards in a row for Resurgence as the main event of their comeback show truly shocked BritWres.

The match is question saw Cara Noir and Spike Trivet write their third chapter in their storied Resurgence rivalry.

An epic clash that saw both men do whatever it took to come out on top - and in Cara’s case we do mean ANYTHING.

The fan favourite attacked not one but two referees, tried to goad Spike into getting himself DQ’d and used a chair in brutal fashion himself.

You know a heel turn has worked when the crowd start CHEERING for Spike Trivet.

Honourable mentions: Charlie Morgan returns at EVE, Joseph Conners returns at BWR

Best on Twitter - Gene Munny

In ring talent is just one weapon a wrestler must have in their arsenal. In today’s social media age it’s also crucial to make a good impression online.

One look at Munny’s Twitter timeline will tell you why he won this award from us. Whether it’s memes, reaction or ratioing commenters, Munny has a real knack for comedy and is good at expressing it in person and online.

The real clincher for us was Munny’s fantastic Regular Life Pro event posters, which saw him make a (delicious) Indian meal, forget to take out the trash and destroy the toilet - probably due to the curry he made.

Honourbale Mentions: Mad Kurt, Charli Evans

Best on Instagram - Mariah May

Of course, there’s more than one social media site to master and the award for the best Insta feed has to go to none other than The Glamour.

May’s feed personifies both her and her character to a tee - showcasing new merch, fire selfies and with captions that are entertaining as hell.

It doesn’t hurt that her feed has seen a lot more silverware this year too.

Honourable Mentions: Neon Cassius, Gene Munny

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