arlovski Posted July 27, 2023 Author Share Posted July 27, 2023 (edited) 2022 END OF THE YEAR AWARDS THE JAPANESE WRESTLING YEAR IN REVIEW MOST VALUABLE PLAYER SENSATIONAL DRAGON Burning Hammer Of The Wrestling Gods After a one year interruption the Sensational Dragon did it again and won our prestigous MVP award for the year 2022. The super Super Junior went into the year as the reigning BHOTWG Junior Heavyweight Champion, defending the title until September for a phenomenal 14 (!) times against the likes of Crimson Ghost, MYSTIC Dragon, Emerald Angel and Elemental III, before dropping it unexpectedly to Panda Mask II, who had reinvented himself in the course of the year as a serious competitor. Up to that point the Dragon had delivered as always - but then in the final three months of the year he really made some jaws drop. Out of his feud with the Emerald Angel three Singles Matches emerged, that have changed the face of Junior Wrestling forever. Especially the encounter between the two men in December was truly heavenly and has ultimately ascended both men to Pro Wrestling heaven. It was as if both men had worked their career-defining match that night and it was won by the Dragon eventually. BEST FOREIGN WRESTLER KC GLENN Black Canvas Grappling Honorable mentions for the Best Foreign Wrestler have been Matthew and Gregory Keith, but this year simply noone could come past KC Glenn. The former BHOTWG Junior star has risen to Middleweight with his switch to Black Canvas Grappling alongside the mentioned Keith Brothers and had arguably the best year of his career there, instantly winning the BCG World Heavyweight Title back in December 2021 and defending it for the whole of 2022. Be it with his fellow Destiny Masters against the factions of BCG or alone against the company's stars such as Mabuchi Furusawa, Nichiren Funakoshi, Razan Okamoto or Bunrakuken Torii, Glenn had delivered a series of very strong performances and quickly became the top heel act of his new employer. BEST TAG TEAM NICHIREN FUNAKOSHI & RAZAN OKAMOTO Black Canvas Grappling While Chojiro Kitoachi and Bussho Makiguchi in Pride Glory Honor Wrestling have had a great run as well, the best Tag Team of the year was once more one of Black Canvas Grappling's duos. Not even their super team of Bunrakuken Torii and Rokuemon Matsushita was able to surpass the team of Nichiren Funakoshi and Razan Okamoto in 2022. Both teams had a fantastic match in Semi Finals of the company's World Tag Team Grand Prix III, before Funakoshi and Okamoto went on victorious in the Grand Finale of the tournament against the Keith Brothers. Both men have also held the BCG and the GCG World Tag Team Titles in the course of the year, making a lot of BCG's midfield players shine. BEST COMPANY BURNING HAMMER OF THE WRESTLING GODS One could argue that the most improved japanese company this year has been Pro Wrestling SAISHO, who were finally able to redeem their debts and achieve a respectable amount of growth. This award is not about the most improved, but the best company, though - and while Burning Hammer Of The Wrestling Gods hasn't improved much, they have stagnated at the top of the mountain, continuing to fill huge stadiums all over the country and being one of the most popular entertainment products. BEST MATCH SENSATIONAL DRAGON VS EMERALD ANGEL BHOTWG Silencing Dragons, December 2022 We have teased it earlier and here it is - the career-defining match of the Sensational Dragon and the Emerald Angel. In front of a hot Sendai crowd of 42.000 the Emerald Angel did everything in his might to make the name of the big event Silencing Dragons true and overcome the arguably greatest Junior Wrestler of all time. Almost 40 minutes of sweat and tears, of Fighting Spirit, of shocking counters, ultra fast Grappling, High Flying, Reverals and a dramatic end phase full of big moves. And in the end, the Sensational Dragon was walzing with goddess Victoria once again, whereas the Emerald Angel remained in his shadow, in what many spectators deemed a perfect match. BEST SHOW BCG STRONGEST LION SERIES | FINAL NIGHT May 2022 It might seem strange that not only a Black Canvas Grappling event, but one of their less important events won this award, but our readers have to trust us on this. The sold-out show in Okayama in front of 12.500 people had an all-around entertaining card with the Main Event Match between KC Glenn and Razan Okamoto for the BCG World Heavyweight Title standing out. Both men have risen to Middleweight this year and obviously have some very strong chemistry, that BCG could feed on in the future. BEST ROOKIE SHINYA ABIKO World Level Wrestling We admit that the 182-pounder Shinya Abiko of World Level Wrestling doesn't look like much at first sight, but the small man from Tohoku is compensating his stature with lots of energy and an extremely innovative use of the ropes. More so than his peers at WLW Abiko's Springboard moves stood out this year and helped him develop a significant fanbase at just 23 years old. In December he was rewarded with the WLW Tag Team belts, that he won alongside masked High Flyer Mercury. 2022 has been his last rookie year, so we can't wait to see what Abiko will do as a senior member of the roster. BEST FEMALE WRESTLER SHIORI JIPPENSHA 5 Star Supreme Wrestling The other ladies of 5SSW and newly founded WINNOW are catching up, but Shiori Jippensha is still the No. 1 when it comes to female Pro Wrestling in Japan. She managed to defend the company's Triangle Title until May, but didn't play as major a role in the main event picture as she did in the previous years, with some considering her loss in the Grand Finale of the J Grand Prix against Romi Yamato sort of a watch release. Still Jippensha has been a solid corner of the company and she remains probably 5SSW's biggest star for the time being. BEST TECHNIQUE MABUCHI FURUSAWA Black Canvas Grappling It is rare the professional wrestlers develop their skills in their 30s, but Mabuchi Furusawa, who has wrestling in his blood, certainly is one of them. It seems like the son of Hanshiro Furusawa was at his absolute best this year, wrestling great matches with opponents of just about any style. But in our point of view, he was at his strongest when going to the ground and utilizing a sheer endless repertoire of locks and holds. MOST POPULAR WRESTLER SENSATIONAL DRAGON Burning Hammer Of The Wrestling Gods Nothing has changed compared to last year - the Sensational Dragon is not only on another level wrestling-wise at the moment, but also in terms of popularity. Rumours say that famed director Eishi Iwai is a fan of the Sensational Dragon and is looking to bring him into one of his motion pictures next year. Edited July 27, 2023 by arlovski 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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