Quarter Year Awards

Sure, this might not be useful to give out quarterly awards for the first quarter, especially for FW feds, but I'm going to do it anyway. This will be the same format as the year-end awards.

Handler of the First Quarter

5th place - Michael McNichols (NFW, LVW; Michael Manson, El-Magick-O [the O is for orgasm])

Mike's in the same place he was at the end of last year at the end of this first quarter, and I think he's only going to move up now that Original Manson is back. If WFW can pick up after Superbowl of Wrestling gets posted and if LVW gets back into its regular groove after Supershow on the Strip gets posted, we might see a monster year from McNic.

4th place - Joe Schmidt (AWC, PRIME; Adam Dick)

He holds gold in both feds, including having won the biggie in AWC twice in this young year (first dethroning Pierce Lavelle to do it). Schimdt might just end up in the top spot by the end of the year if he can make more of an impact in PTC interfed events.

3rd place - Dan West (A1E, EPW, TEAM; The Spoiler, Chip Friendly, Victor Molotov)

Taking a dormant character to the finals of a major tournament, winning the A1E Tag Team Championships and making an impact on EPW are all part of Dan West's impressive start to 2006.

2nd place - Sean Williams (ACW, PTC Events, NFW; Seymour Almasy, Anana El-Doleh)

GTT5 Semifinalist and ACW Champion; Sean's got a lot going for him right now. He might peter out before the year's over due to his LSATs, but right now, he cannot be denied.

Handler of the First Quarter - Karl Brown (EPW, NEW, TEAM; Karl Brown, Mr. Entertainment)

What can you say about Karl? He took two of his own characters to the TEAM semifinals, he's got gold in EPW and he's looking for gold in NEW. He's also among EPW's best matchwriters, and I don't think EPW or the TEAM tournament could have gotten along without him.

Honorable mention: Jeff Paternostro (A1E, NFW; Hida Yakamo, Yori Yakamo, Jr.), Jarrett Aubry (A1E, EPW; Beast), Fergus the Loon (AWC; Jack Murphy)

Wrestler of the First Quarter

5th place - Yori Yakamo, Jr. (NFW)

Outrageous stories about time-warping dildoes and apes may garner rolling eyes out of some folks (and out of me in other circumstances), but with YYJ, they work. He's been one of the most entertaining characters in NFW all season long, and with a win in the Hulk-a-Thon tournament to show for his efforts, YYJ is a force who will probably be in this top five (maybe ranked even higher) at the end of the year.

4th place - "The Renegade" Rich Rollins (PTC Events, GCW)

PTC Global Champion and GTT5 winner... the only reason he's not higher is that it seemed like winning GTT5 was almost an afterthought to him. The win, IMO, was almost anticlimactic. Still it was impressive, and the Renegade's got a spot on the quarter year list.

3rd place - Irish Red (A1E, UCW, EPW)

Runner up in Pier Six and UCW Champion, Red's also got two really intriguing angles going on, one in EPW and one in A1E. He could move up in the list too, especially since Shane is always motivated and eager to work on his characters' stories.

2nd place - Adam Dick (AWC, PRIME)

For reasons listed in the Handler post.

Wrestler of the First Quarter - Seymour Almasy (NFW, ACW, PTC Events)

As a character, Almasy's had the best three months. Great run as ACW Champion thus far, and a semifinal run to the GTT5. Plus he's had a great run in NFW.

Honorable Mention: Andy Sharp (ACW), Jack Murphy (AWC), Eddie Weston (A1E), Felix Red (NFW), Karl Brown (EPW, TEAM), Lindsay Troy (NFW, EPW)

Match of the First Quarter (as written) - NFW Week 8 Survivor Series (only doing one here because there haven't really been enough matches yet)

Like I raved before, this match was phenomenal. It's pretty hard to write these giant tag matches, and McNic came through bigtime in the clutch, getting everyone's stories over and having great action throughout the match.

Honorable Mention: Sharp/Danger/Hound (ACW Legends II), Almasy/Danger/Keller (ACW Legends II), Pier Six Brawl (A1E Bloody New Year), Hulk-a-Thon Finals (NFW Midnight Madness Week 8), Wade/O'Shea (AWC Bloodlust), Survivor of the Fittest (ACW Honor and Glory)

Match of the First Quarter (as RPed) - NFW Hulk-a-Thon Week 8

Yes, it was on the shooty side, but I think that's what made it great. I don't know, I kidna feel guilty about giving it this award because Brunk almost quit over the match and Miller almost got thrown out of the fed, but hey, you can't buy that kind of heat, and now that it's over and now that we know we can never go down that road again... I guess it was fun looking back.

Honorable Mention: Benjamin/Hiroshi (EPW Aggression 23), Beast/Farnswirth (A1E Bloody New Year)

Card of the First Quarter - ACW Legends II

They built to this card for about two years. That means it can go one of two ways. It either surpasses every expectation or it falls too flat. Legends did the former. Great matches all around, especially the two Danger title three ways and Gimmick Hell. I think this is the odds-on favorite to be card of the year in December.

Honorable Mention: A1E Bloody New Year, NFW Midnight Madness Week 7, AWC Twilight of the Gods, ACW Honor and Glory

Tag Team of the First Quarter - The Best Friends/Highland Park Social Club (Chip Friendly and Slambo the Clown [w/ Richard Farnswirth in EPW])

I can see why Dan and Bill wanted to get these guys in the tag division. Absolutely fantastic stuff, and hopefully, they'll be the sparks to a tag team renaissance.

Honorable Mentions: Blitz (Max, Jecht), Celestial Fury (Green Grappler, Butterfly Hamada), Big Dog and Dan Ryan, Torment and Haven

Rookie Character of the First Quarter - Olvir Arsvinnar

I love this character, and I love what he's done in LVW. He has the potential to be one of LVW's anchors for years to come.

Honorable Mention: Garbage Bag Johnny, Gaige Caldwell, Machiavelli St. Romani

Breakout Star of the First Quarter - Karl Brown

This is the year we see Karl Brown start winning really big titles. He has a chance with the TEAM Tournament, but I see perhaps an EPW Title and maybe another fed should he decide to join.

Honorable Mention: Ellis Nash, Shanty Jones

Comeback Wrestler of the First Quarter - Victor Molotov

Seriously, to come back from being dormant for about three years and gain the finals of a big tournament is some pretty heavy stuff. Dan West is a genius, and he deserves this award. Hopefully, Molotov's back to stay.

Honorable Mention: Eli Flair, Darcy Crisis

Angle of the First Quarter - Calypso poses as a woman to get back at Brandon Youngblood

Great shock value. The only thing that hurts it is that Dillon won't be around to handle Youngblood after this is blown off.

Honorable Mention: Randalls and Riktor take Melton to the desert, The Return of Original Manson, Spoiler's and Hida's two-man power trip

Feud of the First Quarter - Sharp/Almasy

THis could be feud of the year before it's all said and done. Great heel turn and this has been a great feud so far.

Honorable Mentions: Dick/Murphy, Eddie Weston/Andy Gilkison

Stable of the First Quarter - Highland Park Social Club

Right now, they're the winners by default, but this could change depending on what Devin does with the House of Lords. But given the talent behind the HPSC, it might just not change.

Honorable Mentions: The Blue Rogues, The Unfuckables, the House of Lords

Heel of the First Quarter - Andy Sharp

Loved the turn. He's gone from face of the year material to heel of the year material. All proof of a great character.

Honorable Mentions: Richard Farnswirth, Jonathan Marx, Hida Yakamo, Adam Dick

Face of the First Quarter - Eli Flair

Flair's a great, intense face and his resurgence in NFW is really one of the young year's best stories in the fed.

Honorable Mentions: Seymour Almasy, Housefly, Big Dog and Dan Ryan

Fed of the First Quarter - ACW

This was close, as really any of the other three feds in the HM could have been here. But ACW's had some strong angles to go with their top notch matchwriting so far, and they've effectively become the ROH of the e-fed world. They seem to be a cut above the rest so far, even if just by a smidgen. I see LVW, NEW and EPW entering the race when they hit their strides, and if UCW can ever get their server issues in line, then they'll contend too. Also watch out for FMLL and MCW... especially MCW as they're in the process of getting their first show up.

Honorable Mentions: AWC, A1E, NFW