Wednesday, October 24, 2007

eW Six Pack: The Best of AWC

Wow, a post from me two days in a row. PERISH THE THOUGHT! It seems like the days of me getting two entries up in a day sometimes and getting posts up on consecutive days at the very least is a memory, but hey, I try to give you content.

Anyway, today, I thought I'd offer up a six pack for your consumption, and I think we'll delve back into recent eW history and look back at the six best AWC superstars in my view. This is a mix of objective accomplishments and sheer subjectivity, ie, whom I liked and thought was good rather than who was booked to the moon sometimes. You also have to remember that I was only around for one year out of their two year history, but I do think this is a representative list.

HERE GOES~!

1. Pierce Lavelle - This was a hard choice to make, as I could realistically have put my #2 or #3 here, but I think what clinches it for Lavelle is that he had two separate, strong runs at the top, both as a heel and a face, and that he was around for really the entire run of the fed, save a few month stint when Lara (his handler, who's a she!) had to concentrate on law school. Granted, Lavelle may not have made this list if I was doing it based solely on subjectivity; I often found Lara's writing to be a bit too emo and some of the storylines were a bit outlandish. However, I don't think there's any denying the impact the character made on the fed.

2. The Illustrious Face-Eater/Adam Dick - I'm not really sure if there's anyone who was more dominant at times than the Face-Eater was when he was on. He and Mike Wade pretty much dominated the entire fed for nearly half-a-year, and Facey was the one to end Lavelle's epic TA Title reign. I think what holds Facey back from being #1 was Joe Schmidt's abrasiveness OOC. It started some problems behind the scenes, and to me, that's a big deal. Still, he was the lesser of two evils in his biggest behind the scenes feud (Jeremy Jenkins, who rivals Paul Miller for the most malignant cancer in all eW), and everyone did generally get along with him.

3. Garbage Bag Johnny - Honestly, if AWC had lasted six months longer, he might have taken the #1 spot. He basically couldn't be touched for most of his run, winning Zero 2 Hero and shooting straight to the Transatlantic Title, beating both guys ranked ahead of him at Coast to Coast '06. Not only was he dominating his matches, but he was writing the most consistently entertaining segments on any edition of Fresh~! I think anyone who thinks comedic characters shouldn't be pushed to World Title level ought to read GBJ's best stuff (along with a few other select characters, like Professor Tremendous and James Irish) and then decide.

4. Jack Murphy - In character, Jack Murphy was an AWC stalwart, a guy who won every singles title there was to win, and someone you could count on for a quality segment, a great match or a classic angle. My first exposure to him was when he was running the old-school angle, waging war against the "sports entertainment" element in AWC, and it was brilliant, especially given his surroundings. OOC, Fergus Looney was the heart and soul of the AWC locker room. He helped Hyde out when things got hectic, kept people interested during the hiatus between Twilight of the Gods and Zero 2 Hero, and it was wholly appropriate that he was the leader of the AWC locker room at the final show. He may not have had the best run in AWC, but I'll be damned if he wasn't an integral part of the fed and didn't deserve a spot on this list.

5. Mike Wade - I'm shocked that Mike Wade never won the Transatlantic Title. I had him pegged as the breakout member of the Unfuckables, but it was Facey who went on to be the HYOOOGE star. Still, that's not to say Wade's AWC run was a wash. He held three titles at the same time and had some pretty big wins. He might have gotten his TA run had he stuck around a little longer, but His Swerviness still provided some kicks in-character as the commissioner of AWC.

6. Paddy O'Shea - Many people may argue this one. Darcy Crisis, Alexander Strider, Aimz, Red Rock, Andy Murray, Chainz or the Furious Fists of God might be better suited for this spot, but despite Mick's flakiness, I think Paddy's always been a part of the fabric and lore of AWC. He was huge in the beginning, and towards the end, he was still around and entertaining, mainly as Josh Marquez's foil around the time of Coast to Coast. Sort of a sentimental favorite, but he does have the credentials to be on this list too.

2 comments:

gigantic turkey sub said...

i've piped down since then, Tom :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the mention after almost a year that I've been away from the game. I'd consider coming back, but only if AWC did too.