Fresh Linen Scent: The Clean Sheet, Volume 1 Issue 8
By @olskoololfool
Welcome to the wrestling “newsletter” with no rumors or dirt: only fun, “what-ifs?” and positives...The Clean Sheet! A rotating series of mini-features here will highlight all sorts of things in the world of pro wrestling: people making change in the sport, charity and fund-raising efforts, trail blazers of the present, a bit of fantasy-booking and much more! So breathe deeply, relax and inhale the wonderful scent of fresh linen: The Clean Sheet.
In this issue, we’ll start putting a wrap on the year of 2020. There will be the Inaugural CSK’s (#CleanSheetKudos) next issue, there will be a recap of my nominations for the IWTV Indies Awards this issue plus much more to come! Let’s get to it, starting with my nominations for the IWTV awards…
2020 Promo or Vignette of the Year for the Independent Wrestling Awards: Tony Deppen goes off to close “The Masked Wrestler” on November 18th
There were some really great promos/vignettes all over social media and at shows this year. With limited events, every second in front of a camera selling yourself to the potential audience became even more important than usual. Think of all the performers that you’ve discovered with someone retweeting a GIF or promo. The athletes that never fail to entertain on your socials’ timeline. Complain about “Twitter wrestlers” all you want, but how do you stay on people’s radar during a freaking pandemic? When there’s only 1 or 2 shows a month that you’re booked for instead of being in the car every single weekend, building your brand, selling your merch, keeping the hype strong was & still is essential.
So why this promo when there was so much good this year: O’Shay Edwards table, radio DJ Warhorse, Effy’s closing to the Brunch all came to mind, but Deppen’s outburst struck me different. I took it as a metaphor for 2020: It isn’t fair, it sucks, it’s a new level of frustration and screw all of it. Tony unmasked on his own and started ripping into his opponent, the judges, heck, anyone that would listen. It was valid, passionate and cathartic. My final vote when the ballot comes up may change but this spoke to me on such a meta level that it snagged my nomination.
2020 Moment of the Year for the Independent Wrestling Awards: “Hoodfoot” Mo Atlas wins the 2020 Fighting Spirit Grand Prix and the Paradigm Pro Wrestling Heavy Hitters title on November 6th
There we also plenty of memorable moments this year and really difficult to cherry-pick just one. So many important shows to amplify the different voices in wrestling: Black Wrestlers Matter, Paris Is Bumping, For the Culture, Effy’s Big Gay Brunch to name a few. Many breakout athletes started getting a lot more attention: Billie Starkz, Nolan Edward, Akira…that list could and would get real long. One journey stood out to me as it built throughout the year and came to a most satisfying feel-good plateau roughly a month ago: the Rise of Hoodfoot in Paradigm.
Who was this huge man with charisma for days, floor-length du rag and knockout power? I figured it out: he is we, he is us. He is the everyman with hopes and dreams being realized. Perhaps hot take incoming…honestly, I see a lot of Dusty Rhodes in Mo Atlas. Swagger, heart, determination, deceptive skills, a definitive style all his own: it’s all there and more. From July to the present he OWNED Paradigm, his only loss in the multi-man finale of the Heavy Hitters 2 tournament. His match against Erick Stevens at Trapsoul was amazing, his performance at Grand Prix? Next level. I eagerly await what’s next for the Hoodfoot in the years to come.
2020 Match of the Year for the Independent Wrestling Awards: Billy Dixon V. Darius Carter from Paris Is Bumping on Oct 29th
Yet again, a super tough call as all of these have been. I had many matches in my mind when I settled on this one: DARK Sheik v. Still Life from Effy’s Brunch, Nolan Edward v. Logan Stunt from Unsanctioned Pro, Lee Moriarty v. ACH from For the Culture, Lee v Makabe from S.U.P. Swing of the Axe are the tip of this mental iceberg. Again, I went with that which really hit with me.
You may immediately dismiss a no-ring affair in a small bar as a match of the year candidate, and I’ll tell you that’s a big mistake. With a small amount of build-up in a one-hour show, a clear hero and villain were presented who then went to war. Our hero Billy was in peril for much of the bout as the villain Darius tortured him in many ways, some which were uncomfortable to watch. The “not the norm” environment led to many creative bits of action. The hero dug deep and came out victorious, as we always hope for. It was perfect pro wrestling by the book in a setting which was definitely not and together, Dixon & Carter made a tremendous memory of what most of us love about this artform. Good v. Evil, Good prevails, smiles on faces miles wide.
2020 Tag Team of the Year for the Independent Wrestling Awards: Violence Is Forever (Kevin KU and Dominic Garrini)
This one was a close to a slam-dunk pick as I had. Anyone else I really considered was either part-time on the indies (looking at you The North) or recently signed to a big show (congrats Top Flight!). None of this is to discount the force that is VIF. It’s hard to think of another team that is so smooth and solid, especially considering how fearsome they are as singles competitors as well. There’s more facets to these two than the diamond on the ring you just bought your partner and every time they enter a ring, more seem to appear. In my eyes, an easy choice.
2020 Wrestler of the Year for the Independent Wrestling Awards: Lee Moriarty
A whole lot of people have had an excellent 2020 despite the shape-shifting landscape to navigate but they only let you nominate one. Every time Lee was on a show you could expect anywhere from a good to mind-blowing match guaranteed. It didn’t matter where: in back of the PolyAm Mansion, a brewery, the Collective, a state park amphitheater, Lee would show up and out every single time. Many will pick his matches versus Makabe or ACH for MOTY candidates and I absolutely can’t argue against either. At first, given his record, I had a hard time believing that he was “the best wrestler in North America”. After the Labor Day weekend AIW/GCW doubleheader and his performances at the Collective I was successfully converted. The Glove, TAIGASTYLE, the Apex of Combat is my choice for wrestler of the year.
In Issue 9, we will give out some kudos in some fun specially-created categories ala the PWI write-in awards and continue our year-end wrap-up at the Clean Sheet!
If you have events/fundraisers that you would like to see highlighted in the Good Hands section or are an athlete/company/promotion who would like to take on the Forward Five Interview, please reach out to us at either @olskoololfool on Twitter or by e-mail, olskoololfool@gmail.com