Coach's Corner "The Road to RRO Wrestler of the Year" by Brian Tramel

----This is a road that has been traveled by only seven individuals since the start of RRO.  Those travelers were Derrick King, Dustin Starr, Rodney Mack, Kevin White, Austin Lane, Danny B Goode and Flash Flanagan.  There were only two guys to make it to the end of the road – Derrick King and Dustin Starr.   Derrick King will always be a candidate for this award, if he continues to work the area.  Austin Lane could have the edge over Derrick King this year and be the front runner of this group of seven.  He continues to have great matches and is over with crowds at ASWF and NEW.  The only thing keeping him from getting enough votes – that he is seen by only those two crowds.  But, if King does not win again, Lane is the guy to beat on in that group of guys who have traveled this road before. 

----Who else this year or in the next few years might be nominated and travel that road?  Here is a list of guys that could easily “walk that walk” and see the cover of a future edition of RRO Yearbook.  

-Justin Smart – He has improved a lot over the last year.  He is a solid worker that loves the sport and is trying to season himself into being a great worker.  He would have to establish himself in more than one promotion in some high profile matches to accomplish enough votes for the award.  He is part of the future of this area though.

-Pokerface – A great worker that is one of the more technical in the area and can work different styles.  He is great - from a brawl to a shooting style to high flying to wrestling.  He is a guy you would want on your roster due to his being a team player.  He would have to push himself to be in the limelight more and be seen by more people to get votes.  He is easily one of the top guys in the area.  

-Cody Melton – A young guy that has been almost snubbed by the RRO awards.  He lost two awards in the 2008 awards by a total of four votes.  He could be a major player in the future of this area – trained by Kevin White and now being mentored by Derrick King.  He should have the exposure and opportunity to push himself into the front in the next few years.

-Eric Wayne – Can a guy who’s major story was him
kicking someone in the face last year turn his whole career around to be one of the best in this area??  The answer is YES – I am going out on the limb here a bit, but Wayne is going to win this award in the next three years.  He is a solid worker, gets exposure, and has won his share of awards.  He has the support of the RRO fans and the wrestling community.

-Kid Nikels – Even though Wayne may have won more awards, Nikels is a “standout” from the Ken Wayne School.  He is a big guy that works hard and does anything it takes to help the promotion.  He has the potential to be the first Ken Wayne student to get a WWE developmental with more seasoning.  Nikels could easily be pushed into the limelight to get enough votes.

-Jon Michael – He is flawless.  It has just surprised me that he has not won more awards.  He has been exposed here with RCW and in the Nashville area for SAW.  I look for him to be nominated in a few new categories this year.  He has to be a leading candidate to be nominated and could win by his popularity.

-Greg Anthony – He is the best talker of the area.  His work is hard to beat and he has one of the best wrestling minds in the area.  His size will not matter in this area in the RRO awards.  He is very well known through his association with Bobby Eaton and his exposure on RCW.  Anthony could easily be a nominee, but might be considered more of a tag team wrestler this year. 

-Christian Jacobs – He has always been a major undercard babyface in the area.  This year has seen him get his push to main event babyface status in EWE and RCW.  What happens when your workrate starts matching your popularity??  It makes it easier to be nominated for the big awards, and I look for Jacobs to get a lot of interest this year.

-Tatt2 – All the talent in the world, but always seems to find it hard to put together the whole package.  He has become a solid worker and seems to understand how to put together a match.  Every time I have seen him perform the fans really get into his act.  If the fans and workers got behind him, he might have a chance in the voting.  I don’t see him being in the race this year, but I think he will get some nominations in other categories.

-Bishop – He has the size.  He has improved his skills and is fun to listen to on the mic.  He needs more seasoning, but in time, he may get the nod for this award and win a nomination.  He works in various promotions and gets himself on TV as much as possible.  A more solid fan base will make him popular and help him be nominated.

-Alan Steele – He won his first award in 2009 and continues to keep his name out there this year.  Steele has not been working steady the whole RRO era, but has kept a steady schedule this year.  He works TCW, RCW and NEW – and is considered the top guy on all those rosters – in and out of the dressing room.  He is probably more deserving of an award like this than anyone, but does he have enough people and impact this year to do it??

Matt Riviera – As I stated in a past Corner, this award does not always go to the best worker, but mainly goes to the guy that is making the biggest impact.  Matt Riviera is that man this year.  His work with TCW and RCW has made him one of the guys I like to watch this year.  Does he have enough support to help him get nominated??

-Jeremy Moore – This guy making the list will probably surprise people the most.  Could he win this award this year?  He has made a huge impact in the Dyersburg area and continues to improve in the ring.  I can’t see enough support from the wrestling community to see him nominated this year, but if he continues on the path he is taking, then he could be considered one of the top guys in the next three years.

-Seth Knight – This guy is probably the dark horse of the whole crew.  He has sat back for years being a better than average worker.  Exposure on RCW TV has made everyone take notice that Knight is good at whatever he is asked to do – a squash for Rodney Mack or go toe to toe with Alan Steele.  His stint with RCW this year has most of the guys that have worked with him talking about how easy he is to work with and how good he can be.  His fan base may help get him a nomination, but he will have to have his peers help him win.  

----So will it be Derrick King and Austin Lane walking down the road of Wrestler of the Year with a new foe??  Will the fans and wrestling community surprise the area and nominate three new faces to fight over the top RRO award??  From this list of guys, how many of them will even be considered??  In four years of voting, there were only seven different guys that traveled the road.  What will it take to become nominated?  As the 10 To Vote starts in January of 2011, the answers will be revealed, but until then we can just speculate and guess on the future of RRO Wrestler of the Year award.

Coach's Corner is a weekly Wednesday feature at RRO by Brian Tramel. Tramel was wrestling manager Coach BT in a former life with Coach's Corner being published on the internet during those days. He has since added it to RRO as his signature column.