2005 had it all in the TWF. For one, it marked 5 years since the company ventured onto the internet, where it has flourished. A bitter fued with the GSE came to a close when the TWF decided to acquire all of it's assets, preventing it's total extinction. The TWF was also blessed with a record number of contracts as people from all over the world expressed their interest to join the #1 fed on the net. With 2 developmental organizations helping to groom new talent, the future looks very bright.
TWF Merchandise took off, especially with our growing action figure line. Rome, our figure creator, enjoys the work and has agreed to continue expanding the line.
In the ring, it was a huge year. It started with John Cena winning the Royal Rumble before going to WrestleMania 6 to defeat Drew Blood. Who can forget WrestleMania 6? It had it all, including Money Mike's victory over Vince McMahon and Travis Wakeman burying The Undertaker alive.
There was several new faces introduced as well who look to take the TWF into the next era. From Matt Cruz to Max Ogden to Jason Oliver to Chris Masters, the pool of young talent is endless. But The Boogeyman? Strange to say the least.
High Octane was finally able to climb to the top of the mountain and Christian got the reward some feel he long deserved.
But tragedy also struck in 2005 as the life of one of the most beloved stars was lost. Gone but not forgotten, we will always remember Eddie Guerrero.
So what was your favorite part of 2005? Use the polls below to cast your vote!
*VOTING WAS LOCKED AT 9:00 P.M. MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME ON JANUARY 9, 2006.
*Muhammad Hassan debuted in late 2004, but officials allowed his entry into this year's vote.
*WINNER- MATT CRUZ: 44% OF THE VOTE.
WINNER- STACY SNOW: 42% OF THE VOTE.
1. Friends or Enemies?: For the last part of 2005, Christian seemed to have found his best ally ever in Jordan Rockwell. And even though Christian was the number one contender to Rockwell's Universal title, they seemed to have a strong friendship. But as their title bout grew closer, Rockwell began to question Christian's intentions.
2. Who runs the Horsemen?: Back in the 1980's, Ric Flair led what was the most dominant group the industry has ever seen, a name synonomous with wrestling..... Horsemen. But shortly after his arrival in the TWF, Money Mike resurrected it and claimed it as his own. These two waged a great war over not only the tradition and the history of this group, but also it's future.
3. Drew Blood's injury: After losing his TWF title to John Cena at WrestleMania 6, Drew Blood claimed to have a shoulder injury but most questioned how hurt he really was, especially when he introduced his own personal "doctor" who was later revealed as Paul Birchill.
4. The Angle Open: In the Summer of 2005, Kurt Angle used the year's second biggest pay-per-view, MeltDown, to issue an open challenge. Lo and behold, the challenge was accepted by a man who wasn't supposed to be able to compete anymore..... Bret "Hitman" Hart.
5. Rome is terrorized: Rome spent the Summer in a serious fued with Muhammad Hassan who claimed Rome was disgracing his middle eastern heritage by embracing America. But when Hassan began to mess with Rome's family, things got a little too personal.
6. Cruz has a past: In an interview with Jim Ross, Matt Cruz revealed his troubled past that involved among other things, the gang life. But after defeating Carlito at TWF DoomsDay, Cruz seemed to be able to put the last behind him when a childhood enemy called a truce.
*WINNER- GOOD FRIENDS, BETTER ENEMIES: 36% OF THE VOTE.
WINNER- PAUL LONDON: 38% OF THE VOTE.
*WINNER- JAMAL AND ROSEY: 83% OF THE VOTE.
1. Drew Blood vs. High Octane: The 2005 King of the Ring was one of the most loaded events of all time. But the best match of the night was easily the 30 minute Iron Man match these two put on. High Octane won by a score of 4-2.
2. Benjamin vs. Corey: The June 18th edition of Rampage saw the best televised match of the year and it was Shelton Benjamin defeating Joe Corey to win the King of Cable title, the second time he'd taken it from him in an epic battle.
3. Rockwell vs. Thompson: The TLC match for the Universal title at Eruption is best remembered for the finish. With each man on a ladder, Rockwell brought Thompson off with his own move, the flipping piledriver through a table. If there was an award for most shocking moment, this would easily win it.
4. Michaels vs. Corey: At the biggest pay-per-view of the year, this was the best match. Enough said.
*WINNER- DREW BLOOD VS. HIGH OCTANE: 33% OF THE VOTE (TIE BROKEN BY TWF OWNER)
1. Tribute to Eddie: After the untimely death of Eddie Guerrero, both Rampage and PrimeTime were dedicated to his memory, complete with comments from those who loved him.
2. Flair defeats Cirianni: After guiding Mike Cirianni towards the main event of PrimeTime, the brash youngster decided to turn on Ric Flair. But thinking the Nature Boy no longer had it was a mistake as Flair defeated Cirianni at Payback. This rejuvenated the in ring career of one of the all time greats and for Cirianni, well who is he again?
3. Corey gets the boot: Corey was finally there. He had the TWF World title shot he so long felt he deserved. It was Money Mike who'd gotten Stephanie McMahon to give him the match. But it was all part of a master plan as Money Mike shocked the world and with the help of his other Horsemen, not only cost Corey the World title, but beat him down as well.
4. The Champ is here: John Cena became the World champion at WrestleMania 6 by defeating Drew Blood, a man many feel is the best World champion ever.
5. TWF acquires GSE: Earlier in the year, the TWF pulled a move no one thought they'd ever see. It appeared the GSE had been destroyed by one of it's own superstars. But the TWF decided to put the past behind them and purchased the GSE and all it's assets.
*WINNER- TRIBUTE TO EDDIE: 71% OF THE VOTE.
WINNER: CHAOS WOLF/VLAD THE IMPALER: 45% OF THE VOTE (TIE BROKEN BY TWF OWNER)
*Note: This is a new category.
*WINNER- MATT CRUZ: 28% OF THE VOTE.
*WINNER: JORDAN ROCKWELL- 31% OF THE VOTE.
Congratulations to Jordan Rockwell for winning Wrestler of the year back to back and to Matt Cruz on his two awards. That brings us to this year's Lifetime Achievement award. It goes to someone who probably will be shocked that he won it. Mike Duffy has been with the TWF for probably close to 5 years now. He was one of my first members, joining as Nuke. Even though he won the second annual King of the Ring, we agreed Nuke would go nowhere in the TWF. Mike really felt he wouldn't be able to come up with a character that would make it big, so I created Damion West and gave him the "High Octane" moniker. Starting as a lightheavyweight, Octane really worked his way up from the bottom. And over the years, Mike has doubted many times whether this career would "make it" or not. We've had hundreds of conversations and time after time I told him, just hang in there, just be patient, it'll happen. Well it did. In a huge upset, Octane defeated Drew Blood to become TWF World champion, something I don't think Mike ever thought would happen. It would've been real easy for Mike to quit years ago, but I thank him for letting me play the character out. He always contacted me for ideas on how to get into the main event and it happened. Perserverance pays guys. That is why Mike wins this award this year.
Well that's it guys. Thank you so much for a tremendous 2005. I know 2006 will only be that much better!
