NCW 2022 Season Awards

NCW’s 2022 Season has officially come to an end after the explosive WrestleFest XVII finale, and with the end here we can finally begin celebrating the year that was with NCW’s 2022 Season Year End Awards! Voting will be ongoing now through January 1st, 2023 right here at theNCW.com with results posted shortly after. The victors will be presented with their awards at NCW’s 2023 Season kickoff events in March!

The NCW Men’s Wrestler of the Year category is a hotly contested one this Season especially with the close of WrestleFest XVII that saw “The Superstar” Darley Desamot win the NCW Heavyweight Championship from “World Class” Channing Thomas only to see the Ox Baker Memorial Cup holder Robbie “The Giant” Araujo cash in his guaranteed title opportunity on Desamot to finally win the NCW Championship and becoming only the second NCW Triple Crown winner in NCW history. Despite losing the Bristol Street Fight to Robbie “The Giant”, “The Victorious” Brett Ryan Gosselin had a banner year this Season kicking off the year as the Victorious Champion before losing NCW’s top prize to Thomas at NCW’s 25 year REUNION.

“RIOT” Kellan Thomas was able to regain the NCW New England Championship from the sniveling Dallas McCarthy at WrestleFest, while “The Ace” Mike Montero was able to rebound from his 2022 slump with a fantastic battle against Devin Blaze that saw “The New Showoff” come out on top while reuniting The Dirt City Murder Crue.

Osirus ended the year without regaining the NCW title he believed was rightfully his, but still was victorious against Derek Simonetti in their brutal WrestleFest war. “The Cutter Kowalski” Ricky Mederios put on some great matches during the 2022 Season, while newcomer Aaron Cademia had big matches with both BRG and Osirus heading into the last half of the year proving he has the chops as Robbie’s young protégé.

The women of NCW this year absolutely killed it as Little Mean Kathleen dominated the early half of the Season as NCW Women’s Champion until AVA made her return to NCW at the 25 Year REUNION to use a steel chain and claim the Women’s Championship as her own. Delilah Hayden pushed her manipulative scapegoat Tim Kilgore away after battling AVA in a brutal battle at NCW Red, White, & Bruised earning her stripes as a true contender for the gold.

“Sugarcoated Hostility” Isana was a crown jewel in Dallas McCarthy’s League of Excellence, but her long standing rivalry with “Spitfire” Jessie Nolan raged throughout the year until Nolan finally put Isana down at WrestleFest XVII in the 6 Person Tag Match. In one match Sarah “Bully” Jade got the entire Bristol VFW chanting her name while Dajae Simone made her return to NCW at the Battle for Bristol since her 2020 debut. “The Portuguese Powerhouse” Ariel finally arrived in NCW after years seeking the NCW Women’s Championship with help from BMT, while Elle Valentine came out of nowhere to shock the world with putting down LMK at WrestleFest with a mist of energy drink right to Kathleen’s eyes.

Da’ Hoodz (Davey Cash & Kris Pyro) found themselves dominating the NCW tag division in 2022 while chasing the NCW Tag Team Championship from Channing Thomas & Vern Vicallo up until Vicallo’s neck injury took him out of action and forced Vicallo & Thomas to vacate the Tag Team Titles. Da’ Hoodz then won the Championship at NCW’s 25 Year REUNION to rule over the division until Frank Champion returned at NCW NO FEAR to aid Shay Cash and give The Heavy Hitters another reign as NCW Tag Team Champions. While Shay betrayed Champion at WrestleFest, we cannot discount the impact The Heavy Hitters had on NCW’s tag team division this Season.

The Dirt City Murder Crue found themselves close to NCW Tag Team gold multiple times this Season with Mike Montero and Jason Devine uniting for The DCMC, but the fractured stable was not working at 100% during the 2022 year. The League of Excellence did their best to make ground with Steven Lust and Nick Diamond teaming, but their partnership blew up at WrestleFest when Diamond left The League of Excellence with a huge DDT on Lust during the New England Title Match. Despite their one shot at the Battle for Bristol in November, the duo of Brendan Michael Thomas (BMT) and “The Portuguese Powerhouse” Ariel proved why this Mr. & Mrs. couple is so dangerous since returning to the New England independents.

Is there any match this year as important as Robbie “The Giant” Araujo vs. “The Victorious” Brett Ryan Gosselin in the Bristol Street Fight 2? A rematch from NCW’s 2019 Match of the Year Robbie sent BRG packing from NCW at the Battle for Bristol. The NCW Heavyweight Champion “World Class” Channing Thomas battled the former NCW Champion Osirus at the Big City Rumble in a classic back and forth battle that saw Thomas retain the title. The Big City Rumble also saw the heated rematch between NCW Women’s Champion AVA and Little Mean Kathleen that saw LMK regain the Women’s Title for a second time.

“The Ace” Mike Montero went one on one with his longtime rival “The Funnyman” Devin Blaze at WrestleFest XVII that saw Montero not only get his groove back but also unite The Dirt City Murder Crue as a whole once more. Montero and the NCW New England Champion “RIOT” Kellan Thomas went at it in a rematch from the 2021 Match of the Year for the New England Championship at the Bristol Not A Palooza while the Tag Team Champions Channing Thomas & Vern Vicallo went to war with the former NCW Tag Team Champions MSP (Aggro & Dangerkid) at NCW’s 2022 kickoff Sweet Victory.

Thomas finally ascended to the top of the NCW mountain at NCW’s 25 year REUNION to defeat BRG and win the NCW Heavyweight Championship and LMK and Teddy Goodz joined forces at the Battle for Bristol and a tremendously fun tag team battle against BMT & “The Portuguese Powerhouse” Ariel.

In a year of change for NCW’s 2022 Season there’s a slew of breakout stars in Northeast Championship Wrestling looking to break the mold and make a huge impact for the promotion. Devin Blaze last wrestled for NCW in 2011 as one half of The Minute Men, but the Blaze who returned to NCW at NCW’s 25 year REUNION was a completely different beast in his current form. The big man Johnny Pierce looked to make an impact during the last half of the Season even getting a shot at Teddy Goodz at WrestleFest XVII.

Beyond AJP’s brief stint at NCW’s 2020 Kickoff the young gun has burst onto the scene during the last few events to make a name for himself amongst the NCW faithful. Elle Valentine went from relative unknown to NCW Women’s Champion by WrestleFest, proving just how dangerous she can be. After floating along during the early part of 2022 Aaron Cademia had a big glow up during the back half of the Season going toe to toe with BRG at the Big City Rumble, winning his Total Elimination Match at NO FEAR, and defeating Osirus in Bristol.

Samuel Radcliffe was more than willing to do BC Putnam’s bidding during the 2022 Season which unfortunately led him to an ass kicking by “The Masshole” Mike McCarthy, but A+ for effort. Sarah “Bully” Jade only made one appearance during the 2022 Season, but Jade went from relative unknown to getting the entire Bristol VFW Post cheering her name in one match, striking a match and setting her sights to bigger things in 2023. Sean “Veegan” Keegan & SIGMA both had some good showings in 2022, and look to continue that momentum in NCW’s 2023 Season after a decent beginning to the year.

Who’s your pick for NCW’s 2022 Manager of the Year? Doc Ozone did his best to guide Foxy Calvin Campbell through a difficult 2022 while BC Putnam did his best to recruit an army of assholes to help him rule over NCW while running for NCW President, coming in 2nd place and effectively becoming Vern Vicallo’s VP. Dallas McCarthy not only managed The League of Excellence, he also held the NCW New England Championship, ran for President, and commentated during NCW events. Kevin Castro helped guide Da’ Hoodz to the NCW Tag Team Championship and orchestrated Shay Cash’s betrayal of Frank Champion at WrestleFest.

What group best exemplified the NCW 2022 Stable of the Year? (*NOTE* We are adding Shay Cash to Castro’s alliance based on what happened at WrestleFest while we also added Ricky Medeiros to The DCMC based on the team reuniting at WrestleFest)