The Choice(s) Are Clear For Pittsburgh's Sports Persons Of The Year

By Bronson Cayuse

The debut edition of Sports Pittsburgh Magazine hits with a body slam. Pittsburgh Independent Wrestlers--and VIPs of the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance (KSWA) Shawn Blanchard and Lou Martin--are at the top of the list.

More than the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger or Antonio Brown, the Pirates' Andrew McCutchen or Garrett Cole, or the Penguins' Sidney Crosby or Marc Andre Fluery, Blanchard and Martin have exuded excellence in their respective sport.

Blanchard, until recently, was the 6-time, "record-extending" KSWA World Champion. Blanchard first won Pennsylvania's most important wrestling belt on August 4, 2000, when he was 25. Roethlisberg was 18, McCutchen was not yet 14 years of age, and Crosby was a few days away from his 13th birthday.

All year long Blanchard has been touting himself as "Pittsburgh's #1 Sports Attraction." It's hard to argue his accomplishments. He defeated Shane Starr for the KSWA title, with the legendary manager James J. Dillon in his corner, on March 28. He successfully defended the title on numerous occasions before losing it to Kris Kash in the "Championship Cavalcade on December 5. Blanchard was forced by the KSWA Championship to defend his title against every other champion in the federation. That meant that Golden Triangle Champion Lou Martin faced off and with 5-Star Champion Mitch Napier, and the new tag team championships Starr and Kash. Kash and Starr, collectively known as "The Lost Boys," won the Commonwealth's most valuable tag team championships earlier in the evening from "Nasty" Nick Crane and Sniper--the Mercenaries--with Mayor Mystery in their corner.

Martin took umbrage to Pittsburgh Magazine omitting him in its "50 Most Powerful People in Pittsburgh." He took to calling himself the "#FaceOfPittsburgh" and was even beat up by the octogenarian Mayor of Homestead--Betty Esper--in June's "Brawl Under the Bridge." Martin had won the prestigious Golden Triangle Championship for the second time in his career on June 6. In addition to the Golden Triangle Championship, Martin is a two-time KSWA World Champion.

Martin has successfully defended his championship throughout the second part of 2015, most recently defeating "The Jester" with WWE legend Hillbilly Jim in his corner.

While Blanchard and Martin--who have perfected a Very Important Person (VIP) existence alongside KSWA Owner Tommy Faime--have routinely won matches by controversial means, they actually are arguably a part of the biggest charitable wing of any Independent Wrestling promotion. The philanthropic branch of the KSWA was the brain child of Owner Bobby O. A small group of KSWA wrestlers and staffers have been known to frequent charitable events and fundraising projects. Martin infamously "Kissed a Pig" on behalf a Pittsburgh-area Boys & Girls Club outing.

Crosby, McCutchen and Roethlisberger (and Brown, Cole and Fluery) were all touted for their community involvement, but none of the other Pittsburgh Sports Professionals brought home or defended championships in 2015. Only Blanchard and Martin made it to the top of their respective fields and meant more to the greater Pittsburgh Community.

Congratulations, Shawn Blanchard (The #1 Sports Attraction) and Lou Martin (The #FaceOfPittsburgh) on being named the very first Sports Pittsburgh "Sports Persons of the Year, 2015."

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--Bronson Cayuse is Editor in Chief of Sports Pittsburgh Magazine