EWF 2007 YEAR END AWARDS

January 9, 2008

2007 Wrestler of the Year

Dan "The Man" Kobrick

Love him or hate him, there's no denying that Dan "The Man" Kobrick is the EWF's 2007 Wrestler of the Year. Kobrick started out the year with the American Championship, a title he held longer than anyone else. After losing that title to The Human Tornado, Kobrick bounced back after only a few months to defeat Joey Harder for the EWF Heavyweight Championship. With the help of his partners, Terex & Sonny Samson, Dan Kobrick will go down in history as one of the most dominant champions the EWF has ever seen.

Honorable Mentions: Joey Harder, Bino Gambino

 

2007 Rookies of the Year

Jeremy Jaeger / Espiritu Infernal

This year, it was just too close to call. EWF officials simply could not choose between rookie standouts Espiritu Infernal & "Top Shelf" Jeremy Jaeger. After countless discussions of weighing the pros and cons of both wrestlers, even looking at their personal records against one another, the only choice that could be made was to award both men the Rookie of the Year award.

Espiritu Infernal debuted back at Independent's Day III, taking on WSX Superstar Luke Hawx. Espiritu more than held his own against Hawx, but his lack of experience eventually cost him this match.

"Top Shelf" Jeremy Jaeger had similar results in his debut match. He was hand chosen by Dan Kobrick to soften up Bino Gambino at the Matt Sinister Benefit Show. Jaeger held his own as well but eventually fell to the then former EWF Heavyweight Champion.

These two are set to make a definitive impact in the Empire Wrestling Federation in 2008. Be sure to keep your eye on them!

Honorable Mentions: Kitana Vera, Tony Raze

 

2007 Most Improved Wrestler of the Year

Country Bear

After just coming up short in last year's Rookie of the Year award, Country Bear took it upon himself to work hard and has improved noticably, which has earned him the 2007 Most Improved Wrestler of the Year award. Not only has Country been honing his craft here in the EWF, but was regularly competing in the now defunct Rising Phoenix Wrestling in Arizona as well. Country's hard work has been paying off lately, but he still has a long way to climb to make it to the top in the EWF. Look for Country to take steps in the right direction in 2008.

Honorable Mention: Brandon Gatson, Maximo

 

2007 Feud of the Year

Bino Gambino vs Dan Kobrick

We picked a good year to add this award. Bino Gambino and Dan Kobrick have had some all out wars in this past year. Not only has Bino been feuding with Kobrick, but with his cohorts, Terex and Sonny Samson as well, which led to some pretty brutal matches as well, and almost all of them involving Dan Kobrick's interference or underhanded tactics in some way. This intense feud culminated at Thanksgiving Throwdown II, when Bino challenged Kobrick one last time with one big stipulation. It was to be a Choose Your Own Adventure Match... A match in which Bino has never lost. It proved to be a smart move on Bino's part, as he picked up the win and began his 3rd run as EWF Heavyweight Champion, a title he's held longer than anyone else. It was not without it's consequences, though, as it was the bloodiest match in EWF history and ended with a quick trip to the hospital for the new champ. One thing we can count on for sure in 2008 is that this feud will continue.

Honorable Mention: TNT vs Aggravated Assault, Joey Harder vs Hook Bomberry

 

 

EWF 2007 Match of the Year

RYAN TAYLOR VS MARKUS RIOT (6/8/07)

This is the match that put Markus Riot on the EWF map. Ryan Taylor needed to win this match to become the first EWF wrestler to hold any title for over one year, consecutively and Markus Riot was hellbent on keeping him from that achievement. What resulted is one of the hardest fought, gutsiest and intense matches ever fought over the Cruiserweight Title, or any other for that matter. Markus Riot used every trick he had up his sleeve and just about every high impact move he had in his repertoire but, ultimately, fell short to Ryan Taylor's favorite submission hold, the Single Leg Crab.

Honorable Mentions: Bino Gambino vs Terex (August 10, 2007 - No Disqualification), Jack Evans & TJ Perkins vs Rocky Romero & Hook Bomberry (September 7, 2007), Joey Harder vs Hook Bomberry vs Rocky Romero vs Karl Anderson (March 18, 2007 - Fatal 4-Way), Brandon Gatson vs Scorpio Sky (December 21, 2007)