Going to be honest, 2006 was not an inspiring year from the Greatest Independent Promotion In Upstate/Central New York History. More downs than ups. Yet, still plenty to be charmed by. The best match delighted me the exact way I hoped. The Tables Don’t Break gimmick, or lack-of-gimmicking I suppose, always made me audibly OOF (Tommy Tallerico style). If I wasn’t already fully in the bag for this promotion though, assume this project would end here.

You can also reasonably assume, I made this post solely to post the below video. A video that is an homage to the amazing “My Sacrifice” music video, one I think about on a somewhat frequent basis.

Note before we get too deep, check out 2CW’s Patreon to watch all of 2CW’s 2006 shows and the rest of the archive that is being uploaded. As well as interviews with former 2CW wrestlers and upcoming show announcements. LINK

Worst Feud of the Year

Killer Steves versus All Money Is Legal

After spending so much time watching these matches, I need to address this. By “this” I mean my least favorite watching experience from 2CW. It is hard to fathom when this will be eclipsed until at least the era of the Shitty Six (we will get there, I’m sure).

Killer Steves are essentially a Workers’ Workers team. You usually that for teams like FTR and the Brainbusters. Those teams know how to put the pieces together and importantly, make each piece interesting. When they work a hold or do a cut off, both done at the right moment and you feel it come off the screen. It is more “methodical”, because the spots aren’t always huge, but ultimately they are as active as any wrestlers on the planet.

Steves? Sleep walking through that crap. You feel the down time like nothing else. And I can’t let AMIL get too off the hook. Not going to bag on them as hard, but they essentially get slotted into the high spot heavy team and they don’t have the SPOTS to pull that off. They can’t bring the heights you are looking for from this style.

Not sure why these two teams kept getting paired other than they were available more often than everyone else.

Show of the Year

2CW’s Field of Dreams (8/18/06)

You can’t always trust spreadsheets…unless you can.

When three of the top five matches of the year happen on the same show, probably have a good shot at being the best of the bunch. Now, two of the absolute worst matches also happen on the show…but the good was so much harder to come by for 2CW in ’06 that they don’t stick out as much.

Obviously, the best match is 2 Cold Scorpio and Slyck Wagner Brown, the best match of 2CW’s entire year. I would say the feud that put 2CW on the map but that has revisionist history vibes. It is certainly one of the foundational texts for the fans of the promotion. I know it was for me.

You also have another Isys Ephex banger, this time with Gordy Wallace. Unfortunate Gordy gets saddled in crowd focused gimmick matches because he has fun offense. Isys busts out at least three highlight real spots in this match including one of my favorite dives of the entire year.

Don’t want to forget the Violet Flame open challenge against Petey from Utica. Violet Flame immediately comes across as someone I want to see more of. Of course, she’s not booked at all in 2007, maybe ever again.

Match of the Year

Read the list dumbie.

Wrestler of the Year

Dan Dynasty

Give it up for the man, Dan Dynasty. Stiff competition from Isys Ephex who is the most interseting wrestler in the promotion. The Spike ironman match left such a bad taste in my mouth, also that forgettable SWB match, couldn’t give it to ’em.

Dan only wrestlers on three of the five shows but manages to have two of the best matches of the year, against Isys and Slyck Wagner Brown. Works face against Isys and then best heel performance of the year against The Underground King. At the time, I noted how Isys was sort of the engine of their match. Stand by that, but I think the SWB match sealed the deal on how Dan can make the structure of a bout come together. Love when you get to see both sides of the coin there.

The crowing jewel? Having the best Killer Steves match of the year. Something totally fine. Wow, look at him go.