Indy Power Rankings for the week of January 21st, 2013:
1. Johnny Gargano-Current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate and Prime Wrestling Champion. Successful defense this weekend vs. Matt Cross of his Prime Wrestling Title. Needs to beat Jon Davis in a No Rope Match on January 26th to retain his top spot.
2. Kevin Steen-Current ROH World Champion defeated Tadarius Thomas over the weekend in Dearborn, MI. Also recently got to the finals of PWG’s DDT4 Tag Team Tournament with El Generico before losing to the Young Bucks. Looks to be on a collision course with Jay Lethal. His last collision with Eddie Kingston in CHIKARA takes place on 2/10. A win over Kingston could catapult him into the #1 spot.
3. Adam Cole-Current ROH World TV Champion, PWG Champion, and PWX Champion. He defeated Jimmy Jacobs over the weekend in a Proving Ground match to keep Jacobs from getting a shot at the TV title. Also defeated Silas Young for ROH in Milwaukee. Will need to continue to hang on to the PWG Title and the PWX Title (title defense vs. Caleb Konley on 2/23) to try to move up. Along with partner, Kyle O’Reilly, defeated the PWX Tag Team Champions Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong before losing to Kevin Steen & El Generico in DDT4 for PWG.
4. Michael Elgin-Current AAW Heavyweight Champion. With an AAW show coming up on Friday, it hasn’t been confirmed if he has a title match, but had a good month so far with a tag team title win in PWG with Brian Cage (before losing those same titles to the Young Bucks). Also picked up a big win over Rhino in Dearborn for ROH but failed in the Defy or Deny 4 way match as the first man eliminated.
5. Davey Richards-“The American Wolf” is always relevant on the indies. Suffered a loss to the ROH World Tag Team Champions in Dearborn, MI but bounced back with a victory over Kyle O’Reilly in Milwaukee. Has an AAW Tag Team Title Match coming up for AAW on 1/25.
6. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)-The PWG Tag Team Champions after winning DDT4 for the third time by defeating The Inner City Machine Guns, Brian Cage & Michael Elgin, and Kevin Steen & El Generico in one night. They are also the current CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas. Big title defense coming up on 2/10 vs. 3.0 in CHIKARA.
7. Jay Lethal-Although not very active across the indy scene, he has been on fire lately with big wins in ROH. Beat Jay Lethal over the weekend before losing a 6 man tag team match to S.C.U.M. the next night.
8. AR Fox-The current DGUSA Unified Tag Champ as well as CZW Wired TV and CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion, Fox is one of the top stas in indy wrestling right now. He’ll need to successfully defend the CZW Wired TV title at the CZW 14th Anniversary on 2/9 vs. Rich Swann to keep his spot and/or move up.
9. Drake Younger-Currently on a big tour of Japan. Before doing so, scored a big victory over Sami Callihan in PWG to knot their series at 1-1. Will earn a shot at the PWG title with one more win over Sami Callihan.
10. The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe)-The ROH World Tag Team Champions successfully defended the titles by defeating The American Wolves in Dearborn. The next night they lost to SCUM in 6 man tag action when Rhino pinned Mark. They were also unsuccessful in DDT4, losing in the first round to Kevin Steen & El Generico.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of January 28th, 2013:
1. Johnny Gargano-Current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate and Prime Wrestling Champion. Successful defenses over the weekend vs. Jon Davis in a No Ropes match and vs. Brian Kendrick to retain the DGUSA Open The Freedom Gate title.
2. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions and the current CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas. Big title defense coming up on 2/10 vs. 3.0 in CHIKARA. Had a successful weekend after defeating the D.U.F. of Sami Callihan & Arik Cannon on 1/25 and The Jimmyz on 1/26. They did, however, go on to lose on 1/27 to AR Fox & Akira Tozawa. They now have the DGUSA Open the United Gate Tag Team titles in their sights.
3. Kevin Steen-Seemed to be inactive over the weekend, but has a big February coming up. The current ROH World champion is in search of some wins in order to move back up the rankings.
4. AR Fox- The current DGUSA Unified Tag Champ as well as CZW Wired TV and CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion. Lost his first match of the weekend in a 3 way vs. Chuck Taylor and Jon Davis after being pinned by Taylor. Followed the loss up with two straight victories. First, a singles victory over Samuray Del Sol in an instant classic. Second, in a big tag team match against the Young Bucks, setting up a possible tag title defense for a future date. Has a big match on 2/9 at CZW’s Anniversary Show vs. Rich Swann in a CZW Wired TV Title defense.
5. Chuck Taylor-“The Kentucky Gentleman” has jumped right into the thick of things here after a big weekend at DGUSA. He swept the weekend and went 3-0 with three victories. On 1/25 he defeated AR Fox & Jon Davis in an EVOLVE Records match. He followed that up on 1/26 with a win over Arik Cannon in the opener at Revolt! And on 1/27 he defeated Eita to move to 3-0.
6. Adam Cole- Current ROH World TV Champion, PWG Champion, and PWX Champion. Drops a bit due to what seemed to be a weekend with no activity. Has an important February coming up, so he can definitely move up with a string of victories.
7. Davey Richards-Suffered a loss to Silas Young & Shane Hollister in tag team action when teaming (and turning on) Michael Elgin over the weekend. Not sure what February has in store for Richards, but the chances to move up are always there with 2/2 and 2/16 ROH shows.
8. Michael Elgin-The current AAW Heavyweight Champion was turned on by Davey Richards in tag team action at AAW over the weekend and suffered a loss to Silas Young & Shane Hollister. He also lost to John McChesney in a IWC Title match. Needs to get back on the winning track to start moving up again.
9. Rich Swann-Swann cracks the top 10 with a 2 out of 3 success rate on the weekend. After losing a tag team match to the Jimmyz, he went on to defeat Eita and Arik Cannon for the DGUSA promotion
10. Jay Lethal-Inactive over the weekend. Needs to do something this weekend to stay in the rankings. With the ROH TV tapings coming up, that shouldn’t be hard.
Indy Power Rankings for the week of February 4th:
1. Johnny Gargano-Current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate and Prime Wrestling Champion. Appeared to be inactive over the weekend. Could add to his growing list of titles, as he has an AIW Absolute Heavyweight Title shot on Friday February 8th vs. Eric Ryan.
2. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions and the current CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas. Appeared to be inactive over the weekend. Big title defense coming up on 2/10 vs. 3.0 in CHIKARA. They will also be appearing (and probably defending their titles) at All Star Weekend 9 for PWG in March.
3. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion stays at #3 with lackluster competition over the weekend at the ROH TV Tapings as he defeated and destroyed Grizzly Redwood and another unknown.
4. AR Fox- The current DGUSA Unified Tag Champ as well as CZW Wired TV and CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion. Defeated Shane Strickland at National Pro Wrestling Day over the weekend. Has a big match on 2/9 at CZW’s Anniversary Show vs. Rich Swann in a CZW Wired TV Title defense.
5. The Briscoes- The ROH World Tag Team Champions fly up the rankings after two victories on the weekend to successfully retain their tag team titles. Wins over Jimmy Jacobs & Steve Corino at National Pro Wrestling Day and Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (to split up the team) were huge for “Dem Boys”. Big match coming up in March for ROH’s Anniversary Show vs. Fish & O’Reilly.
6. Michael Elgin-The current AAW Heavyweight Champion might look to be adding gold to his collection after an eventful weekend for ROH. Lost in a 6 Man Tag Team Match vs. Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish. Won a TV Title #1 contender 4 Way over 3 great indy superstars to move back up the rankings by beating Davey Richards, Matt Hardy, & Roderick Strong. Will receive a TV title match for ROH in the near future. Also defeated IWC Heavyweight Champion John McChesney by DQ last weekend for IWC, but did not win the title.
7. Jay Lethal-Defeated Jimmy Jacobs to continue his dominance over S.C.U.M. in ROH. Has a HUGE ROH World Title shot coming up in March.
8. Matt Taven-Jumps into the rankings with two victories over ROH competitors to move into a TV title match at ROH’s Anniversary Show. Wins over Silas Young and Tadarius Thomas were huge.
9. 2 Cold Scorpio-Had a big day at National Pro Wrestling Day as he won a Four Way Elimination Match vs. Jojo Bravo, Oliver Grimsley, and Shane Hollister in the afternoon, then proceeded to defeat indy star, ACH at the evening show. This old dog is still VERY good when called upon.
10. Adam Cole- Current ROH World TV Champion, PWG Champion, and PWX Champion. Drops again due to inactivity as he was at WWE tryout during the ROH TV tapings.
(Cole stays in over Chuck Taylor due to Cole currently holding three titles, which has some weight as to whether or not he could remain in the top 10)
Indy Power Rankings for the week of February 11th:
1. AR Fox- The current DGUSA Unified Tag Champ as well as CZW Wired TV and CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion. Defeated Rich Swann in a CZW Wired TV Title defense over the weekend. Was unable to make his match at AIW with Michael Elgin due to weather.
2. Johnny Gargano-Current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate and Prime Wrestling Champion. Lost by referee stoppage in an AIW Absolute Heavyweight Title match vs. Eric Ryan.
3. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions. Lost the CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas to 3.0 after winning a 6 man with Kevin Steen vs. Gran Akuma & 3.0 the night before.
4. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion. Lost to the feud blow off vs. Eddie Kingston after winning a 6 man tag team match vs. 3.0 and Gran Akuma with the Young Bucks the night before.
5. Green Ant-HUGE weekend in CHIKARA as he defeated the CHIKARA Grand Champion, Eddie Kingston, in one on one competition. Also won a 6 man tag team match over Team FIST (Chuck Taylor, Icarus, & Sugar Dunkerton).
6. Eric Ryan-The current AIW Champion defeated Johnny Gargano to retain the title AND won the CZW Tag Team Titles with Dustin Rayz in a 4 Way Dance. That is an amazing weekend for a wrestler just hitting his stride.
7. Michael Elgin-The current AAW Heavyweight Champion. Lost to ACH at AIW, then lost to Eric Allen in an MECW title mach. Ended the weekend by defeating Silas Young to retain the AAW Heavyweight title.
8. The Briscoes- The ROH World Tag Team Champions .Inactive over the weekend.
9. Eddie Kingston-The current CHIKARA Grand Champion had a 50/50 weekend at CHIKARA as he lost to Green Ant in non-title action, but then went on to successfully put away the current ROH World Champion, Kevin Steen, to retain his title in the big blow off to their feud. Also defeated Tim Donst at AIW.
10. ACH-Defeated Michael Elgin at AIW and moved on in the AAW Heritage Title Tournament over the weekend. Big weekend for the indy star, who is on the rise.
Indy Power Rankings for the week of February 18th:
1. Johnny Gargano-Current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate and Prime Wrestling Champion. Successfully retained the PRIME title on IPPV over Krimson in a hard fought match.
2. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion. Lost in a tag team match on Friday February 15th at 2CW to Isys Ephex & Spike Dudley while teaming with Jason Axe. Bounced back on Saturday with an ROH win by winning a Six Man Tag Team Elimination Match by eliminating Davey Richards, TV Champ Adam Cole, and Michael Elgin to be the sole survivor.
3. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions. Won a 5 team gauntlet match by defeating Azriel & Bandido Jr. and Cooley-K & K-MC. Lost later in the night to The FWE Tag Team Champions, the Adrenaline Express.
4. Paul London-Resurrected his career over the weekend by defeating Brian Kendrick at the FWE No Limits Pre-Show and then following that up with a victory over Damien Darling to win the FWE Tri-Borough Title.
5. Tim Donst-Scores two big wins over the weekend by downing Colt Cabana & AR Fox at Wrestling is Art’s debut shows.
6. The Briscoes- The ROH World Tag Team Champions both won singles contests in ROH. Mark defeated “Spyder” Nate Webb while Jay defeated QT Marshall.
7. Michael Elgin-The current AAW Heavyweight Champion. Didn’t win the 6 Man Tag Team match in ROH against SCUM, but did eliminate Jimmy Jacobs & Steve Corino to retain his spot in the top 10.
8. Mike Quackenbush-“Quack” had a great weekend at Wrestling is Art by defeating Jaka and Drew Gulak on back to back nights.
9. Jay Lethal-Re-enters the top 10 after a victory over Tadarius Thomas in ROH in Cincinnnati. Lethal hasn’t lost a match in quite some time, despite some inactivity.
10. AR Fox- The current DGUSA Unified Tag Champ as well as CZW Wired TV and CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion. Had a bad weekend as he lost to both Chuck Taylor and Tim Donst at the debut shows of Wrestling is Art.
Indy Power Rankings for the week of February 25th:
1. Chiva Kid-The current PWI International Ultra J Champion after a HUGE victory over Eddie Edwards. He has been on a roll since National Pro Wrestling Day. Also went to a time limit draw with Corey Hollis over the weekend in the #1 contender match for the PWX Television Title
2. Johnny Gargano-Current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion-Competed at VWAA over the weekend and lost to Isaias Velazquez.
3. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion. Lost by DQ to CWF Mid Atlantic TV Champion Arik Royal after a low blow. Lost in a 3 way tag team match at PWX to The Great Outdoors as well. Has a huge month upcoming in March, consisting of title defenses, as well as a shot at the PWX Title.
4. John Morrison-The Next Generation Champion-After a hard fought 4 way win over Matt Jackson and Nick Jason, Morrison outlasted 5 other competitors (Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Brian Cage, Jack Evans, and Samuray Del Sol) to become the first ever champion.
5. Brian Cage-The PWB TV Champion, PWR Jr. Champion, and PWR Tag Team Champion-“Mr.GMSI” has been on fire lately, most recently securing a new title in the form of the PWB TV Title over TJ Perkins for the vacant championship. Is one spot below Morrison as he lost by countout in the Next Gen Title tournament.
6. The Briscoes- The ROH World Tag Team Champions. Both appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
7. Michael Elgin-The current AAW Heavyweight Champion. Failed to win the Battle Arts Openweight Championship but was the last man eliminated from the Four Way.
8. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions. Lost in singles action in the Next Gen Wrestling tournament and then lost in a 3 Way Tag Team Death Match.
9. Jay Lethal-Drops slightly due to inactivity. Has an ROH World Title shot this weekend that will determine his ranking from here on out.
10. Adam Cole-The ROH TV Champion and PWG World Champion squeaks in despite losing the PWX Title to Caleb Konley in a best 2 of 3 falls match over the weekend. He did win a 6 Man tag team match over Caleb Konley, Cedric Alexander, & Chris Lea at CWF Mid Atlantic. Has a huge March coming up with title defenses vs. Matt Taven, Matt Hardy, and the winner of Drake Younger/Sami Callihan.
Indy Power Rankings for the week of March 4th:
1. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion. Successfully defended the ROH World Title in a great match vs. Jay Lethal at ROH’s 11th Anniversary Show. Has a title match on March 30th vs. Mark Briscoe in Charlotte and then Jay Briscoe on April 5th if he can hold onto the title vs. Mark. Also has a 2CW title defense vs. Michael Elgin upcoming.
2. Chiva Kid-The current PWI International Ultra J. Teamed with Arik Royal to defeat The Aftermath (Ric Converse & Xsiris) at End of an Era for CWF.
3. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)-Had the biggest weekend of their careers by defeating the Briscoes for the ROH World Tag Team titles and then successfully defending them vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov). Have a date with destiny vs. The American Wolves on April the 5th.
4. The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)-Had a great ROH weekend by defeating Forever Hooligans at the 11th Anniversary Show and then defeated Tadarius Thomas & ACH in tag team action. They’ve got an ROH World Tag Team Title shot coming up vs. reDRagon on April the 5th.
5. ACH-Won the AAW Heritage Title Tournament by defeating J. Miller & Samuray Del Sol in a single night. Then went onto ROH and won a 6 Man Scramble at the 11th Anniversary Show, and a tag team match over Mike Sydal and Adam Page at the TV tapings. Lost in a tag match vs. The American Wolves. Expect big things in his future.
6. Michael Elgin-The Current AAW Heavyweight champion successfully defended against Mat Fitchett at Path of Redemption 2013. Beat Roderick Strong in a best 2 out of 3 Falls Match and then beat Silas Young at the TV taping. Lost in a 6 Man Tag Team Match to SCUM at the TV taping as well.
7. Johnny Gargano-Current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion-Appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
8. John Morrison-The NGW Champion went overseas and defeated Gabriel Angelfyre at PWH International Encounter.
9. BJ Whitmer-Defeated Charlie Haas in a brutal no holds barred match, then defeated QT Marshall at the TV Tapings. Went on to lose a 6 Man Tag Team match vs. SCUM though.
10. Jimmy Jacobs-Defeated Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander in tag team action with Steve Corino. Defeated Mike Mondo in singles action.
Indy Power Rankings for the week of March 11th:
1. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion. Teamed with the Super Smash Brothers to defeat Shawn Spears & TDT at C4 Level Up 2013 over the weekend. Has a 2CW Title defense upcoming this weekend vs. Michael Elgin. Scheduled to be at NSPW Hunted this weekend as well.
2. Stevie Richards-The current Extreme Rising World Champion shoots right up the rankings as he has been on fire lately, successfully defending the title all over the world. Went 2-0 over the weekend with wins over Maxwell Chicago at BELIEVE 51 in Orlando, FL and Chasyn Rance at SCW Spring Break in Sanford, FL.
3. AR Fox-The current CZW Wired TV Champion, CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion, and one half of the DGUSA Tag Team Champions successfully defended the CZW Wired TV title vs. Azrieal over the weekend.
4. MASADA-The CZW World Heavyweight Champion gets into the top 10 with a successful title defense in a Four Way vs. Christina Von Eerie, Joe Gacy, and Matt Tremont.
5. Chiva Kid-The current PWI International Ultra J Champion. Inactive over the weekend.
6. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)-The current ROH World Tag Team champions were inactive over the weekend as a team.
7. ACH-The current AAW Heritage Champion was inactive over the weekend.
8. Michael Elgin-The Current AAW Heavyweight champion got to the finals of the Adrenaline Cup Suicide 6 Way at SCW by defeating Alessandro Del Bruno, but was ultimately defeated by John Greed. Lost to Mike Bailey in a singles match at C4 Level Up 2013. Scheduled for a 2CW Title Match vs. Kevin Steen this Saturday, 3/16. Needs a win to hang on to his spot in the top 10 and/or move up in the rankings.
9. Gran Akuma-2-0 weekend at CHIKARA. One of his victories was a singles match over the former #1 and current DGUSA Open The Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano! The other was a ten man tag team match over Devastation Corporation & Team FIST.
10. Hallowicked-2-0 over the weekend at CHIKARA as he defeated the former X-Pac, Sean Waltman in singles competition, then followed that up by defeating Jakob Hammermeier.
Notes:
This is the first week that Johnny Gargano has fallen out of the top 10. He was 0-2 on the weekend.
Green Ant just misses out after winning two big multiple man tag team matches. Anyone know what happened to Eddie Kingston over the weekend? Green Ant could very well be the Grand Champion had he been at the venue for the show.
Indy Power Rankings for the week of March 18th:
1. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion. Remains at #1 after successful defense of the 2CW Title vs. Michael Elgin. Next big match is a title defense of the ROH World Championship vs. Mark Briscoe on 3/30.
2. Chiva Kid-The current PWI International Ultra J Champion teamed with Ric Converse to defeat Xsiris and Chet Sterling to hang on to the #2 spot in the rankings. Has a HUGE match on 3/30 vs. Arik Royal coming up.
3. Team ATM (Bryan Wilcott & Mike Foxx)-Defeated The Rock Star Mafia (Armani & Dane Griffin) and Team Electrifying Storm (Barrett Brown & Tim Storm) to win the NWA Texoma Tag Team Title Tournament.
4. Bolt Brady-Defeated Phil Stamper, Velvet Jones, and Adan Reyes to win the AIWF Krazy 8 for 2013.
5. Tommy Taylor-Went 2-0 over the weekend and has won his last 7 straight matches. Defeated Angel Santos at FUW and Jonathan Gresham at FIP on 3/14 and 3/15, respectively.
6. Stevie Richards-The current Extreme Rising World Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
7. Matt Taven,The ROH World Television Champion, defeated Dalton Castle at CW Cold Fury Fallout on 3/15. Comes in on a 5 match winning streak and winner of the ROH 2013 Top Prospect Tournament.
8. Rob Conway-Defeated Kahagas to win the NWA World Heavyweight title in what may be the biggest win of his career.
9. AR Fox-The current CZW Wired TV Champion, CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion, and one half of the DGUSA Tag Team Champions was defeated by Kitsune at ISW 3D in Danbury, CT.
10. ACH-The current AAW Heritage and MPW Central States Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend. Note: He did successfully defend the MPW Central States Title on 3/9 vs. Dan Walsh, thus the reasoning why he stays instead of MASADA.
Notes:
MASADA just missed out on the rankings. The CZW World Heavyweight Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Jon Davis,The FIP World Heavyweight Champion, defeated Samuray Del Sol on 3/15 and almost got into the top 10.
reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish), The current ROH World Tag Team champions were inactive for the second weekend as a team, so they fall out.
Johnny Gargano, The current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion, misses out on the top 10 for the second straight week due to inactivity this time.
Rockstar Spud defeated Cliff Compton for the OVW TV Title. Needs a few more big wins in the American indies to crack the top 10.
Indy Power Rankings for the week of March 25th
1. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion. Defeated in singles competition by Paul London at PWG All Star Weekend, but bounced back with a 6 Man Tag Victory with Brian Cage & Michael Elgin vs. Rich Swann, Ricochet, & AR Fox. Next big match is a title defense of the ROH World Championship vs. Mark Briscoe on 3/30. Also has a PWX Title shot vs. Caleb Konley on 3/29.
2. Arik Royal-Riding a 5 match winning streak (one of which was a DQ victory over Kevin Steen), the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion successfully retained the title vs. Rick Steiner & Ric Converse in a Three Way Match. Big match on 3/30 vs. Chiva Kid coming up.
3. Young Bucks-The current PWG Tag Team Champions soar into the #2 spot after defeating Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano and The Dojo Bros (Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong) over the weekend at PWG. They went 0-2 in singles action at the King of Flight tournament.
4. The Irish Airborne (Dave Crist & Jake Crist)-Defeated the Sex Bob-ombs (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) to successfully retain the AAW Tag Team Titles at AAW’s 9th Anniversary Show. They are also the IWA East Coast Tag Team Champions as well as the JCW Tag Team Champions (as the Ring Rydas). They have won 4 straight tag team matches, and 4 of their last 5 matches, in general.
5. Jerry Lynn-Has a 7 match win streak to end an amazing career. Cracks the top 10 with his final victory as he wins a Fatal Four Way Match over Horace The Psychopath, JB Trask, and Sean Waltman at HOW (Heavy on Wrestling). Indeed, thank you Jerry!
6. The Unbreakable F’N Machines (Brian Cage & Michael Elgin)-Two singles champions (and the former PWG Tag Team Champions) teamed up to go 2-0 over the weekend with wins over Future Shock (Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Cole) and The Inner City Machine Guns & AR Fox in 6 Man Action (with Kevin Steen).
7. Samuray Del Sol-Struggled at PWG, going 0-2 with a loss to the Inner City Machine Guns (Rich Swann & Ricochet) while teaming with AR Fox, and then losing to TJ Perkins in singles action. Bounced back with three straight wins in one night over Paul London, AR Fox, and Ricochet to win the King of Flight Tournament.
8. Chiva Kid-The current PWI International Ultra J Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend. Has a HUGE match on 3/30 vs. Arik Royal coming up.
9. Paul London-Has been on fire lately on the independent scene. Went 2-0 at PWG with singles wins over the ROH World Champion Kevin Steen and Trent Barretta. Lost the next day in the first round of the King of Flight tournament to Samuray Del Sol.
10. assailANT-Rode a three match win streak into the rankings as he defeated Mark Angelosetti for the WIF! Banana Title over the weekend.
Notes:
Just Missing Out:
Ricochet-Teamed with Rich Swann to defeat AR Fox & Samuray Del Sol at PWG All Star Weekend, but lost to Kevin Steen & The Unbreakable F’N Machines the next night. Went into the King of Flight tournament and defeated Amazing Red and Rich Swann before losing in the finals to Samuray Del Sol.
AR Fox-The current CZW Wired TV Champion, CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion, and one half of the DGUSA Tag Team Champions went 1-3 over the weekend and fell out of the standings. He teamed with Samuray Del Sol to lose to the Inner City Machine Guns, then teamed with The Inner City Machine Guns to lose to Kevin Steen & The Unbreakable F’N Machines. Went on the King of Flight tournament, defeated Nick Jackson in the first round, but lost in the next round to Samuray Del Sol.
Rockstar Spud-Defeated Jeremiah Plunkett to successfully defend the OVW TV Title on 3/20. Needs a win or two to get into the top 10.
ACH-The current AAW Heritage and MPW Central States Champion went to a 30 minute time limit draw with Davey Richards at AAW’s 9th Anniversary Show.
Rob Conway-The NWA World Heavyweight Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend..
Matt Taven,The ROH World Television Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Stevie Richards-The current Extreme Rising World Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Team ATM (Byron Wilcott & Mike Foxx)-The NEWA Texoma Tag Team Champions appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Bolt Brady-Appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Tommy Taylor- Appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Johnny Gargano-The DGUSA Open The Freedom Gate Champion went 1-1 in tag team competition at PWG over the weekend. Not enough to crack the top 10 but a win over SHINGO at DGUSA could get him back in.
Adam Cole-The PWG World Champion went 1-1 over the weekend at PWG as he successfully defended the title vs. Drake Younger, but lost in tag team competition vs. Brian Cage & Michael Elgin while teaming with Kyle O’Reilly. Needs more wins to get back in the top 10. Has a chance to win the ROH TV Title back from Matt Taven as he has a 3 Way Scheduled with Matt Hardy at Supercard of Honor.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of April 1st:
1. Kevin Steen-The current ROH and 2CW Champion. Went to a no contest with Caleb Konley on 3/29 and failed to win the PWX Title. Defeated Mark Briscoe on 3/30 to retain the ROH World Title. Defends the ROH World Title this weekend vs. Jay Briscoe at WrestleCon!
2. Arik Royal-Now on a 6 match winning streak (one of which was a DQ victory over Kevin Steen), the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion successfully retained the title vs. Chiva Kid on 3/30 in a fantastic contest.
3. Brian Cage-One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and the current PWR Junior Heavyweight Champion, PWR Tag Team Champion, and PWB TV Champion went 3-0 over the weekend on 3/30 at MWE and became the first ever MWE Heavyweight Champion after defeating Todd Chandler, Chris Masters, and James Morgan. Starting to become like Ultimo Dragon with all the titles he’s racking up.
4. Michael Elgin- One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and current AAW Heavyweight Champion, went 2-0 over the weekend with victories over Corey Hollis at PWX and Adam Page at ROH. Has a #1 contender’s match vs. Jay Lethal and a singles match vs. Karl Anderson coming up this weekend for ROH.
5. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)-the current ROH World Tag Team Champions defeated Alabama Attitude (Mike Posey & Caleb Konley) on 3/30 to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles. They have a date with destiny against the American Wolves this weekend at Supercard of Honor.
6. American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards)-Defeated Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander at ROH on 3/30. Have won 3 straight as a team. Edwards defeated Jake Manning in singles competition at PWX on 3/29. ROH Tag Team Title match coming up this weekend vs. reDRagon.
7. Chiva Kid-The current PWI International Ultra J Champion retained the title vs. Delirious on 3/29. Came up just short of winning the CWF Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Championship vs. Arik Royal on 3/30.
8. Rockstar Spud-on 3/27/13 he defeated Ryan Howe by countout to retain the OVW TV Title and then by Pinfall. Has been very consistent as of late and may get a TNA call up shortly.
9. Young Bucks-The current PWG Tag Team Champions appeared to be inactive over the weekend. HUGE match for the DGUSA Tag Team titles coming up vs. AR Fox & CIMA at WrestleCon.
10. Evan Money-The PWE United States Champion cracks the top ten by winning another title. He defeated 3 men (Shane Fury, Silent Kunai, and Deven Spade) in one night to win the NWA Central States Heavyweight Title.
Missing Out:
Johnny Gargano-The DGUSA Open The Freedom Gate Champion’s losing streak continues as he lost to NIXON (Bobby Beverly & Rickey Shane Page) while teaming with Josh Alexander at AIW. Failed to win the Gauntlet for the Gold at AIW as well.
Colin Delaney-Won the AIW Gauntlet for the Gold but could not get into the top 10 due to a lot of recent losses
assailANT-Appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
AR Fox-Was defeated in a Six Man Tag Team Three Way Match on 3/26 in Mexico by Flamita & Juventud Guerrera while teaming with Tribal. Was defeated on 3/29 by Crazy Boy, Joe Lider, & Willie Mack in a 6 Man Tag Team Match at AAA. Is on a bit of a losing streak aside from a recent win over Nick Jackson. Still has the CZW Wired TV and Jr. Heavyweight Titles, along with the DGUSA Tag Titles.
Paul London-Appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Samuray Del Sol-Appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
ACH-Won a 4 Way Proving Ground match over Roderick Strong, Jay Lethal, and Matt Taven over the weekend, but failed to win the AIW Gauntlet for the Gold or the AIW Absolute Title #1 Contendership Six Way Scramble.
Rhett Titus-Went 1-1 over the weekend as he was unable to win the PWX Innovative Television Title in a Ten Way Elimination Match, but did defeat BJ Whitmer in singles competition at ROH. Has won 4 of his last 5 matches.
Tommy Taylor-Teamed with Andreas Rossi to defeat Damien Angel & Eddie Taurus for the NWA FUW Tag Team Titles. He’s about one more big victory away from cracking the top 10 again.
The Irish Airborne (Dave Crist & Jake Crist)-the Current IWA East Coast Tag Team Champions, JCW Tag Team Champions, IPW Champion (Jake Crist), and AAW Tag Team Champions appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Dameon Ceretone-Won the March Madness Tournament at PSW by defeating Scott Spade, Sean Nelson, and Ace Haven in a single night.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of April 8th:
1. Rockstar Spud-Defeated Cliff Compton on 4/3/13 to retain the OVW TV Title. Followed that up with a victory over Scott Cardinal on 4/6/13 to once again retain the OVW TV Title.
2. John Morrison-The current Next Generation Wrestling Champion continued his winning ways over the weekend with a victory over Elijah Burke on 4/4/13 at PWS and a victory over the legendary Jushin Liger on 4/5/13. Has a huge match for the 2CW title vs. Kevin Steen upcoming.
3. Michael Elgin- One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and current AAW Heavyweight Champion, went 1-1 over the weekend with a victory over Jay Lethal at ROH’s Supercard of Honor to become the #1 contender to the ROH World Title. Lost the next night vs. Karl Anderson in a singles match at the ROH TV Tapings.
4. Jay Briscoe-Scored the biggest win of his singles career by defeating Kevin Steen for the ROH World Championship on 4/6/13 at Supercard of Honor. Teamed with future contender, Adam Cole, to defeat Matt Hardy & Rhino the next night at the ROH TV Tapings. Teamed with his brother, Mark, and lost to The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express at PWS on 4/4/13.
5. Johnny Gargano-After a losing streak, the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion gets back into the top 10 with a 4-0 weekend by defending the title vs. Shingo successfully and then by beating CIMA, Eita, & Tomahawk TT in 6 Man Action at DGUSA. At EVOLVE he teamed with Brian Kendrick to defeat the Gentlemen’s Club (Drew Gulak & Orange Cassidy) and then at CHIKARA he teamed with Icarus, Sugar Dunkerton, and Chuck Taylor to defeat Scott Parker, Shane Matthews, Gran Akuma, & Marty Jannetty.
6. Uhaa Nation-The current Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Champion (along with BxB Hulk) returned from a successful tour of Japan with a vengeance. He went 2-0 over the weekend with a singles victory over Sami Callihan at DGUSA Open the Ultimate Gate 2013. He followed thatu p with a victory in the Ladders are Legal Seven Way Fray over AR Fox, Christina Von Eerie, Façade, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, and Samuray Del Sol.
7. AR Fox-The current CZW Wired TV Champion had an up and down weekend. Started off by winning the EVOLVE Title by defeating Jon Davis by DQ, Ricochet by Pinfall, and Sami Callihan by Pinfall in a single night tournament on 4/5/13. On the same day, he won the Six Way Aerial Assault at CZW by defeating Chiva Kid, Lucky tHURTeen, Rich Swann, Shane Hollister, and Shane Strickland. The next day he lost the Open the United Gate Titles to the Young Bucks at DGUSA. The day after that, he was defeated by Uhaa Nation in the Ladder Fray.
8. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)-the current ROH World Tag Team Champions defeated The American Wolves at Supercard of Honor to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles. O’Reilly lost to Davey Richards in singles competition the next night while Bobby Fish defeated Eddie Edwards.
9. Young Bucks-The current PWG Tag Team Champions picked up another title when they defeated AR Fox & CIMA on 4/6/13 for the DGUSA Open the United Gate Titles. The night before, at EVOLVE, they were defeated by the Super Smash Brothers. On 4/7/13, they lost in singles competition in the Ladder Fray at DGUSA’s Mercury Rising (to Uhaa Nation).
10. Kevin Steen-The current 2CW Champion lost at PWS in a match vs. Dan Maff by submission on 4/4/13. He then lost the ROH World Championship in a battle with Jay Briscoe at Supercard of Honor on 4/5/13. Was promptly beaten down the next night at the ROH TV Tapings by S.C.U.M. What does the future hold for Kevin Steen?
Just missing out:
Chiva Kid-The current PWI International Ultra J Champion lost to AR Fox in the Six Way Aerial Assault at CZW at WrestleCon on 4/5/13.
Brian Cage-One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and the current PWR Junior Heavyweight Champion, PWR Tag Team Champion, and PWB TV Champion was inactive over the weekend, but he did win the Fresno Classic body building competition.
American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards)-Lost to reDRagon in their quest for the ROH World Tag Team Titles, but did get a measure of revenge when Davey Richards beat Kyle O’Reilly the next night. Edwards lost to Fish in singles competition the same night.
Arik Royal- The CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
The Super Smash Brothers-Went 2-1 over the weekend with wins over the Young Bucks, as well as the DUF (Arik Cannon & Sami Callihan), but ultimately fell to Eita & Tomahawk TT.
Karl Anderson-Went 2-0 at ROH over the weekend with wins over Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of April 15th:
1. Rockstar Spud-Defeated Cliff Compton on 4/10/13 by disqualification to retain the OVW TV Title and to stay in the top spot. Expect to see him full time in TNA soon as he continues his rack up victories.
2. Michael Elgin- One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and current AAW Heavyweight Champion successfully defended the AAW Title vs. Davey Richards in a 25 minute instant classic on 4/12.
3. Alex Colon-Entered CZW’s Best of the Best 12 as a long shot. Left as the winner. Defeated Rich Swann & Shane Strickland in a 3 Way Dance, Jonathan Gresham, and AR Fox to ultimately win the tournament.
4. AR Fox-The current CZW Wired TV Champion made it all the way to the finals of CZW’s Best of the Best Tournament before losing to Alex Colon. He defeated Uhaa Nation & Chiva Kid in a 3 Way Dance and Tommy End on the way to the finals.
5. Damian Dragon-Winner of the 17th Annual ECWA Super 8 Tournament on 4/13. Defeated Chris Wylde, Mike Mondo, and Papadon along the way to cement his place in wrestling history.
6. Matt Taven-The Current ROH World Television Champion defeated Alex Arion at Chaotic Wrestling in Lowell, MA on 4/12. He has been on fire all over the East Coast recently.
7. ACH-The current AAW Heritage Champion defeated Kyle O’Reilly to successfully retain the title on 4/12. His star continues to rise. Wrestling Davey Richards on 4/20.
8. The Irish Airborne (Dave Crist & Jake Crist)-the Current IWA East Coast Tag Team Champions, JCW Tag Team Champions, IPW Champion (Jake Crist), and AAW Tag Team Champions successfully defended their AAW Tag Team Titles vs. Arik Cannon & Mat Fitchett on 4/12.
9. Jay Briscoe-The current ROH World Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
10. Johnny Gargano-The current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Just missing out:
John Morrison-The current Next Generation Wrestling Champion suffered a rare loss vs. Christian Rose at Dream Wave Wrestling on 4/13. Has a shot at the 2CW title vs. Kevin Steen coming up on 4/20.
Kevin Steen-The current 2CW Champion went to a no contest in the NSPW Title Match vs. Buxx Belmar. Lost a 6 man tag team match to Black Resistance later in the night. Has a HUGE match vs. John Morrison coming up on 4/20 before a tour of Europe the following week.
Dan Maff-The current NWA Liberty States Heavyweight Champion defeated Lance Anoai on 4/13 at WXW C4 in a #1 Contender’s Match for the WXW Ultimate Heavyweight Title.
Scotty the Body-Defeated Anthony Darko & Tyson Dux to win the Quest for the Crown Tournament at MPW Gold Rush 2013.
Adam Cole-Defeated Sami Callihan at CZW in what was billed as their final encounter.
reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)-the current ROH World Tag Team Champions appeared to be inactive over the weekend. Fish teamed with Eddie Edwards on 4/16 in NOAH losing to Maybach Taniguchi & Yujiro Takahashi. Fish also teamed with Edwards & Kyle Sebastian on 4/13 to lose to Diamond Ring in 6 Man Action. Fish lost to Akitoshi Saito on 4/16. Fish also teamed with Jake Durden on 4/14 losing to BRAVE. Fish teamed with Eddie Edwards to lose to No Mercy on 4/19.
Young Bucks-The current PWG Tag Team Champions and DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions lost a tag team match to Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas at AWS’s “Nobody’s Fool” show on 4/13.
Uhaa Nation-The current Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Champion (along with BxB Hulk) was defeated by AR Fox in CZW’s Best of the Best Tournament in first round competition along with Chiva Kid in a 3 Way Dance.
Jay Lethal-Defeated Nathan Banner at ACE Day of Reckoning on 4/13.
Colt Cabana-Teamed with Juntai Miller to defeat Dan Lawrence & Markus Crane on 4/12 at AAW. Defeated Shockwave the Robot at DWW on 4/13.
Sugar Dunkerton-Defeated Jacoby Boykins on 4/13 at the Anarchy TV Taping in Cornelia, GA.
Eddie Edwards- Teamed with Bobby Fish on 4/16 in NOAH losing to Maybach Taniguchi & Yujiro Takahashi. Also teamed with Bobby Fish & Kyle Sebastian on 4/13 to lose to Diamond Ring in 6 Man Action. Lost to Satoshi Kojima on 4/14. Went to a 15 minute time limit draw on 4/16 with Atsushi Kotage. Edwards teamed with Fish to lose to No Mercy on 4/19.
Roderick Strong-Defeated by Adam Page on 4/13 at PWX in Boston, Virginia
Chip Day-Defeated Cedric Alexander for the PWX iTV title on 4/13
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of April 22nd:
1. AR Fox-The current CZW Wired TV Champion and EVOLVE Champion defeated Dalton Castle at 2CW Living on the Edge 8 on 4/19 and defeated Josef Von Schmidt on 4/20 at PWA in Gardner, MA.
2. Brian Cage- One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and the current MWE Heavyweight Champion, PWR Junior Heavyweight Champion, PWR Tag Team Champion, and PWB TV Champion defeated Paul London on 4/19 at QPW’s inaugural show. He followed that up with a successful defense of his MWE Heavyweight title over Famous B & James Morgan on 4/20.
3. John Morrison- The current Next Generation Wrestling Champion went 2-0 over the weekend with wins over Sami Callihan and Kevin Steen at 2CW.
4. Isys Ephex-Scored the biggest win of his career by defeating Kevin Steen for the 2CW Title on 4/19 and followed that up with a successful defense vs. Jason Axe the next night.
5. Michael Elgin- One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and current AAW Heavyweight Champion was defeated by TJ Perkins at QPW on 4/19, but followed that up with a win over John Silver at Alpha 1 Wrestling’s “Rehab” on 4/20.
6. Rockstar Spud-Went to a No Contest with Randy Royal at the 4/17 OVW TV Taping
7. The Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)-The current IWGP World Tag Team Champions defeated the Kingz of the Underground to become the NWA World Tag Team Champions and double champions.
8. Drake Younger-Defeated Joey Ryan at QPW on 4/19, then defeated Bryce Harrison at FSW on 4/20. Capped off the weekend with a title win at SPW in Sacramento on 4/21 where he defeated Drake Frost, Christopher Grey and Champion Joe De Soul for the Xtreme title in a Fatal Four Way Match.
9. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions and DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions defeated Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) at QPW on 4/19.
10. Kyle Matthews-Defeated Jordan Kage, Nasty Russ, & Dustin Rayz to become the first ever PWF Champion.
Johnny Gargano-The current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion teamed with Bobby Beverly to defeat Jason Gory & Eric Ryan on 4/19 at PRIME Wrestling.
Slyck Wagner Brown-Went 2-0 at 2CW over the weekend. Defeated Colin Delaney on 4/19 and Colt Cabana on 4/20.
RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime & Johnny Yuma)-Went 2-0 over the weekend. Teamed with B-Boy to defeat Peter Avalon, Ray Rosas, & Scorpio Sky on 4/19 at QPW. Followed that up with a tag team victory over Greg Romero & Tristan Keali’i at FSW on 4/20.
Kevin Graham & Mike Van Slyke-The 2CW Tag Team Champions successfully defended their titles vs. SCUM (Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs) and won the 2CW Tag Team Title Battle Royal on 4/20 vs. Dick Justice, Eric M. Timmins & Pete D. Order and Electric Dream Machine (Loca Vida & Steve McKenzie) and Planet Fitness (Cheech & Marcos) and Team CK (Kage & Sean Carr) to go 2-0 on the weekend.
The Irish Airborne (Dave Crist & Jake Crist)-the Current IWA East Coast Tag Team Champions, JCW Tag Team Champions, IPW Champion (Jake Crist), and AAW Tag Team Champions were defeated in 6 Man Tag Action along with Gerome Phillips vs. Aaron Williams, Matt Taylor, & Benjamin Kimera at Rock Star Pro Wrestling on 4/17. Also lost at RSPW on 4/10. Dave Crist appeared for a promotion in Lexington, KY on 4/19.
Jay Briscoe-The Current ROH World Champion appeared to be in action on 4/20, but no word yet on who he and his brother, Mark, wrestled.
Uhaa Nation-The current Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Champion (along with BxB Hulk) went 3-2 over the week/weekend. He successfully defended the titles vs. Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu and Ryo “Jimmy” Saito on 4/19 at Sanbo Hall in Kobe, Hyogo (Japan). Teamed with Akira Tozawa on 4/20 to defeat Naruki Doi & Ricochet. Teamed with Akira Tozawa and Kzy on 4/21 but was defeated by the Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi, Jimmy Susumu, & Ryo Jimmy Saito). Teamed with Mondai Ryu and was defeated by YAMATO & Cyber Kong on 4/22.
The Hooligans-The Zero1 Midwest Tag Team Champions went 3-0 over the weekend with wins over Davey Richards & Kyle O’Reilly, Evan Gelistico & Gerald James, and Aaron Solo & Darren Dean
Jonathan Gresham-The new Zero1 Midwest X Division Champion went 2-0 with wins over DaCobra and Oliver Cain
Bear St. Pierre-The Zero1 USA Illinois Heavyweight Champion went 2-0 with 2 wins over Donovan Ruddick.
Arik Royal-The current CWF Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion successfully defended his title vs. Ray Kandrack on 4/20.
Matt Taven-The current ROH World Television Champion was defeated by countout vs. Vinny Marseglia at Top Rope Promotions on 4/19.
Rob Conway-The current NWA World Heavyweight Champion defeated Chris Masters on 4/20 to successfully defend his title.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of April 29th, 2013:
1. John Morrison- The current Next Generation Wrestling Champion went 1-0 over the weekend with a big tag team victory over the Young Bucks at IWL on IPPV while teaming with Johnny Savoi.
2. Uhaa Nation-The current FIP Florida Heritage and Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Champion explodes into the 2 spot after a 4-0 weekend at Dragon Gate in Japan to run his two week total to 7-2.
3. Brian Cage- One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and the current MWE Heavyweight Champion, PWR Junior Heavyweight Champion, PWR Tag Team Champion, and PWB TV Champion drops 1 spot as he defeated Mike Rayne in the first round of the Pro Wrestling Bushido Warrior’s Way tournament before losing to Drake Younger in the semi-finals.
4. Michael Elgin- One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and current AAW Heavyweight Champion was defeated by BJ Whitmer at AIW on 4/26, but followed that up with a win over MASADA to retain the AAW title on 4/27. Defeated Colt Cabana at Squared Circle Wrestling on 4/28 to cap off the weekend with a 2-1 record and move up one spot in the Rankings.
5. AR Fox-The current CZW Wired TV Champion and EVOLVE Champion fell to the #4 spot after a 0-1 weekend where he lost to the former Trent Barreta at FIP in Florida.
6. Sir Samurai-The SPW Heavyweight Champion successfully defended his title vs. Drake Frost on 4/27, then defeated Joe DeSoul, and topped it off with a victory in a 6 Man Tag Team Match. The next day he went 3-0 in one night to win the Pro Wrestling Bushido “Warrior’s Way” Tournament with wins over B-Boy, Dylan Drake, & Drake Younger. An impressive 6-0 weekend gives him his first entry into the Indy Power Rankings.
7. Jay Briscoe-The ROH World Champion teamed with his brother, Mark, to defeat Caleb Konley & Cedric Alexander on 4/26 at PWX. He then defeated Corey Hollis the next night at PWX/EVO to move to 2-0 on the weekend. He has a HUGE title defense coming up on 5/4 at ROH’s “Border Wars” vs. Adam Cole. The next night he teams with his brother, Mark vs. The American Wolves.
8. Rockstar Spud-At the 4/24 OVW TV Tapings, the OVW TV Champion teamed with Randy Royal, Rob Terry, Jay Bradley, Tony Gunn, and Eddie Diamond to defeat the Coalition (Ghillie, Jack Black, Shiloh Jonze, Joe Coleman, Jason Wayne, and Raul LaMotta) by disqualification. Spud holds drops two spots due to strong competition this week. Needs a few more big wins to climb back up the ranks in the Indy Power Rankings.
9. Ricky Morton-This is not a typo. One half of the Rock & Roll Express defeated Tony Kozina and won the 6 Way Elimination Match for the Smoky Mountain Cup 2013 and in the process pinned Kyle O’Reilly & Adam Pearce to secure his place in the Indy Power Rankings and earn an NWA World Title shot on 5/18 vs. Rob Conway in Kingsport, TN.
10. Willie Rood-He won the Gold Rush Pro Wrestling “Reach for the Gold 2 Dynamite Division Tournament” on 4/27 by defeating AJ Kirsch and then winning a 4 Way Ladder Match over Drake Younger, Mr. Prime Time, and Virgil Flynn to secure the gold.
Just Missing Out:
Kyle Matthews-The current PWF Champion defeated Colt Cabana at Wrestling Cares on 4/27 in Los Angeles, CA and came within inches of being in the top 10 again. He’s got a big PWF show this weekend and could springboard back into the top 10.
Ricochet-A 4-0 weekend at Dragon Gate ALMOST gets him into the Indy Power Rankings, but a 0-3 weekend last weekend kept him from making the cut as his two week total record is now 4-3. One more successful weekend and he should be making an appearance in the Indy Power Rankings.
Drake Younger-The SPW Extreme Champion went 4-3 over the weekend along with a victory in a battle royal at Gold Rush Pro Wrestling. He also made an appearance in the finals of the Gold Rush Pro Wrestling Reach for the Gold 2 Dynamite Division Tournament and the Pro Wrestling Bushido Warrior’s Way Tournament.
Christian Rose-The only man to beat John Morrison recently defeated Davey Vega at AAW Take No Prisoners on 4/27.
Isys Ephex-The 2CW Heavyweight Champion appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Bobby Fish & Eddie Edwards-After a slow start to their tour of NOAH, they finished it off with a 2-0 weekend to win 3 of the last 4 and leave Japan on a high note.
Chip Day-The PWX Innovative Television Champion has caught fire recently with a string of victories at PWX. Went 2-0 over the weekend at PWX and EVO with a win over Adam Page and then in a 4 Way over Joe Black, Raymond King, and Robyn Golphin.
The Submission Squad (Evan Gelistico & Pierre Abernathy)-Went 2-0 over the weekend with wins over The Jollyville Fuck-Its (Russ Myers & T-Money) at AIW and Two Star Heroes (Chris Castro & Matt Knicks) at VWAA.
Louis Lyndon-Went 2-0 on the weekend with a win in a 4 Way Scramble at AIW over ACH, Davey Vega, & Gary Jay. He followed that up by teaming up with Marion Fontaine & Zero Gravity for an 8 man tag team match victory over Ethan Page, Josh Alexander, & The Irish Airborne at AAW.
Colin Delaney-Another 2-0 weekend for the former WWE star after a 6 man tag team win with Youthanazia over #NIXON at AIW. He teamed with Michael Payton at C4W to defeat Brent Banks & Jae Rukin.
The Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)-The current IWGP World Tag Team Champions and NWA World Tag Team Champions appeared to be inactive over the weekend.
Famous B-He teamed with Willie Mack on 4/26 to defeat the RockNES Monsters at IWL on IPPV. Won the Golden State Battle Royal at Apex Pro on 4/28.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of May 6th, 2013:
1. Rockstar Spud-At the 5/1 OVW TV Tapings, the OVW TV Champion successfully defended his title vs. Jessie Godderz to extend his winning streak. To our knowledge, he has not lost on the indies since FEBRUARY. It’s only a matter of time before he’s in TNA making appearances every week in the X Division.
2. Jonathan Gresham-The NEW Quadruple Junior Heavyweight Champion after defeating Takuya Sugawara at Zero1 (Tanaka 20th Anniversary). He now holds the ZERO1 International Jr. Heavyweight Championship, the NWA Jr Heavyweight Championship, the ZERO1 USA X-Division Championship, and the 2012 Tenkaichi winner which gave him a Championship to hold.
3. Jay Briscoe-The current ROH World Champion went 1-1, but he won the important battle as he defeated Adam Cole at ROH Border Wars to retain the ROH World title. The next night he teamed with Mark Briscoe to lose to the American Wolves, but did not take the pin. His two week record is 3-1.
4. The American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards)-After some struggles in singles and in other tags, the Wolves re-enter the rankings after a 2-0 weekend for both men. On Saturday 5/4 at ROH Border Wars, Eddie Edwards defeated Taji Ishimori and Davey Richards beat Paul London. The next night they teamed to beat Jay & Mark Briscoe in tag team action.
5. Matt Taven-The current ROH World Television Champion went 2-0 over the weekend defeating Mark Briscoe at ROH Border Wars and Pepper Parks the next day at the ROH TV Tapings. It appears he has won 5 of the last 6.
6. Eddie Kingston-The CHIKARA Grand Champion went 2-0 over the weekend with successful defenses of his title vs. Green Ant & Mark Angelosetti. He is on a 4 match win streak at CHIKARA.
7. Slyck Wagner Brown-The big man has won 4 of his last 5, with two straight at 2CW a couple of weeks ago, and now a 1-0-1 weekend. Especially of note was his HUGE win over Bobby Lashley at CTWE BriccoMania V on IPPV.
8. Trent Barreta-After a slow start on the indies, he’s on a 3 match win streak and has won 4 of his last 5. He defeated Dan Barry at CTWE BriccoMania V over the weekend. Credited for knocking AR Fox out of the top spot last week.
9. Drake Younger-The current SPW Extreme Champion has been solid lately and has cracked the top 10 again after a victory over Brian Kendrick on Friday 5/3 at HOODSLAM to become the first Shocker PMA Champion.
10. Saturyne-She is the very first WOMAN wrestler to make it into the rankings which tells you just how impressive she has been lately. Went 2-0 at CHIKARA over the weekend against MEN. Not just men, but great wrestlers in Missile Assault Ant & Tim Donst. She has won 6 straight overall.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
John Morrison, Brian Cage, AR Fox, Kyle O’Reilly, The Young Bucks, Sir Samurai, Ricky Morton, B-Boy, Chip Day, Louis Lyndon, Isys Ephex
Just missing out:
Uhaa Nation-The current FIP Florida Heritage Champion started out strong on the weekend, but lost two straight and nearly fell out of the rankings due to his loss of the Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Titles. Has another big weekend for Dragon Gate coming up. We have his 3 week total at 8-4.
Michael Elgin-The current AAW Heavyweight Champion just missed out this week on the rankings with an 0-1 weekend teaming with Kevin Steen (after Jay Lethal was injured) to lose to Jimmy Jacobs & Cliff Compton at ROH Border Wars. Paul London’s injury prevented him for getting his win back and going 1-1.
Kyle Matthews-The current PWF Heavyweight Champion had won 8 straight according to our records until 5/5 at Rampage Pro Memorial Mayhem where he was beaten in a 5 way elimination match by Mike Cruz. Had a successful title defense over Chance Prophet at PWF “Annihilation.”
Scorpio Sky-Was one of the last two men remaining in the Great Goliath Rumble at EWF’s 17th Anniversary Show as well as one of the last two men remaining in CWF Hollywood’s Red Carpet Rumble. He failed to win both, but ultimately ended up beating the Red Carpet Rumble Winner, Shaun Ricker, to become the new CWF Hollywood Heritage Champion at the end of the night.
Jimmy Jacobs-Had a solid 2-0 weekend at ROH with a tag team win over Michael Elgin & Kevin Steen (replacing the injured Jay Lethal) and a singles win over Jay Lethal the next day.
Cliff Compton-He was inactive at OVW, but scored two big tag team victories at ROH over the weekend with his SCUM counterparts as he teamed with Jimmy Jacobs to beat Michael Elgin & Kevin Steen (replacing the injured Jay Lethal) and teamed with Rhett Titus to defeat Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman the next day.
Arik Royal-The CWF Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion went to a draw with Zane Dawson to extend his streak without a loss. We note that he has ZERO losses in 2013.
Tommaso Ciampa-Returned to the ring over the weekend and defeated Danny E at Chaotic Wrestling Wrestling and Rip Impact at the ROH TV Tapings.
Bobby Fish-One half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions returned to the states with a tag team victory at IWC with John McChesney over Logan Shulo & Michael Façade.
Trevor Lee-The CWF Mid-Atlantic TV Champion is on a 3 match winning streak. Successfully defended his title vs. Donnie Dollars on 5/4 at CWF Mid-Atlantic.
Matt Taylor-The OCW Ohio Heritage Champion had an impressive week by first beating Andy Stryker on 5/1 at the Rockstar Pro Wrestling showcase show, then by winning the “Gem City Rumble” at Rockstar Pro Wrestling’s Gem City Slam on 5/3. He then followed that up with a victory over Kid Hybrid at WAR: DTA on 5/4.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of May 13th, 2013:
1. AR Fox- The current CZW Wired TV Champion and EVOLVE Champion teamed with Athena to win 3 matches to win the WSU “King and Queen” tournament. He followed that up with a victory in a 6 man tag at CZW’s “Proving Grounds 2013” teaming with Shane Strickland and Tommy Dreamer to defeat 4-Loco. The next day at Wrestling is Art!, he scored yet another victory to run his record to a staggering 5-0 on the weekend.
2. The American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards)-This seemingly unstoppable team joined forces again to defeat QT Marshall and RD Evans in Belle Vernon, PA for Ring of Honor.
3. Matt Taven- The current ROH World Television Champion scored another impressive victory over Tadarius Thomas in singles competition at Ring of Honor over the weekend
4. Jamin Olivencia-The OVW Heavyweight Champion has won 3 straight and has another successful title defense on 5/8 at OVW vs. Joe Rosa. He defeated Doug Williams at OVW’s “War is Necessary” on 5/11 and then Paredyse the next day. From our records, he has not lost since March when he lost to Crimson.
5. Rockstar Spud-At the 5/8 OVW TV Tapings, the OVW TV Champion successfully defended his title vs. Randy Royal to continue his winning streak until he finally lost the OVW TV title at OVW’s “War is Necessary” on 5/11 to Randy Royal. He then bounced back with a win over Chris Silvio the next day.
6. King Mo-The MMA fighter has won every match in OVW so far. On 5/8 at the OVW TV Taping vs. J.Best he came away with a submission victory. He did the same on Friday and then defeated Joe Rosa at OVW’s “War is Necessary” on 5/11.
7. Joe Gacy-He became the first ever Xcite Wrestling Champion with wins over Chuck Taylor, Luke Babcock, and a 4 way victory in the finals vs. Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, & Shane Strickland. He went to a “No Contest” at CZW the next night vs. Matt Tremont.
8. Athena-Our second ever female to be inducted into the Indy Power Rankings. Gets in on the strength of 3 victories teaming with AR Fox to win the WSU “King and Queen” tournament.
9. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)-The current ROH World Tag Team Champions defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe to retain the titles on 5/11. They have won 9 straight matches as a team and 10 of 11 with the only loss coming to the American Wolves back in December of 2012.
10. Jay Briscoe-The ROH World Champion barely hangs on this week after losing in tag team competition to reDRagon, but did not take the pinfall for his team. He could move up with a successful title defense vs. BJ Whtimer next week.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
John Morrison, Trent ?, Sir Samurai, Ricky Morton, Chip Day, Louis Lyndon, Isys Ephex, Willie Rood, Slyck Wagner Brown, Eddie Kingston, Jonathan Gresham, Saturyne, Cliff Compton, Arik Royal, Trevor Lee
Just missing out:
Ricochet-Teamed with Masato Yoshino and Rich Swann to defeat Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk, and Uhaa Nation on 5/9. He followed that up with another 6 man tag victory while teaming with Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino to defeat Ryo Saito, Jimmy Kanda, and Naoki Tanizaki on 5/10. He lost in 6 man action to CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fujii on 5/11, but bounced back with a win over Ryo “Jimmy” Saito on 5/12 to run his record to 3-1 on the week.
Tommaso Ciampa-He continues to rack up wins since his return. This time he picked up a win over Vinny Marseglia at Ring of Honor on Saturday. Could the Indy Power Rankings be his next step?
Michael Elgin- The current AAW Heavyweight Champion just missed out this week on the rankings with a 1-1 weekend. He lost in singles competition on 5/10 at ESW Brawlfest to Pepper Parks in a big surprise, but followed that up with an impressive win over ACH at ROH on 5/11.
Matt Taylor-The OCW Ohio Heritage Champion scored another win at RSPW over Zakk Spadez to continue his winning ways.
Jimmy Jacobs-“The Zombie Princess” scored another win in ROH to run his streak there to 3. This time he defeated Jay Lethal in a “No Disqualification” match on 5/11.
Brian Cage- One half of the Unbreakable F’n Machines and the current, PWR Junior Heavyweight Champion, PWR Tag Team Champion, and PWB TV Champion defeated Willie Mack, Phoenix Star, and Ultimo Panda on 5/10 at Pro Wrestling Revolution. We’re unable to locate results for his match on 5/11 there.
Drake Younger- The current SPW Extreme Champion lost on Friday night at Magnum Wrestling to Tyler Bateman, but followed that up with a surprise tag team match with Scotty Vortekz (reuniting the Naptown Dragons) to defeat The Nation of Intoxication at CZW.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of May 20th, 2013:
1. The American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards)-This seemingly unstoppable team joined forces again to defeat Cliff Compton and Rhett Titus in Richmond, VA for Ring of Honor. Davey Richards also picked up two wins at AAW over Mixed Martial Archie and a tag team win with (ironically) Kyle O’Reilly over Michael Elgin and ACH on 5/17. Edwards was defeated in a 3 way for the 2CW title by Isys Ephex (also involving Kevin Steen) that same night.
2. Eddie Kingston-The CHIKARA Grand Champion had a STRONG weekend as he debuted for AAW on 5/17 with a victory over Markus Crane, then beat Jordan McEntyre, and finally Knight Wagner to finish off the night. He then followed that up with a successful title defense vs. Archibald Peck at CHIKARA on 5/18. He went 4-0 on the weekend!
3. Jay Briscoe-The ROH World Champion moves all the way up to the #3 spot after a big title defense vs. BJ Whitmer to improve his singles record in recent months as he is seemingly unstoppable at the moment.
4. Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw & The Shard)-This upstart tag team went into the Tag World Grand Prix as a semi-new team, but left as the surprise winners after victories over Arik Cannon & Darin Corbin, Da Soul Touchaz, and The Young Bucks. They’ve won 5 straight overall. Look out for them to pick up some gold in the near future.
5. Randy Royal-The newly crowned OVW TV Champion is on quite the roll as he picked up another victory. This time over Jessie Godderz at the 5/15 OVW TV Taping. He followed that up with a win on Friday 5/17 over Dylan Bostic and then on 5/19 vs. Paredyse. The roaring elbow has been his secret weapon in creating success in OVW. He was 3-0 on the week.
6. Jonathan Gresham- The Quadruple Junior Heavyweight Champion (the ZERO1 International Jr. Heavyweight Championship, the NWA Jr Heavyweight Championship, the ZERO1 USA X-Division Championship, and the 2012 Tenkaichi winner) picked up another victory at ZERO1 Japan with a tag team win over Ikuto Hidaka & Fujita “Jr” Hayato.
7. C&C Wrestle Factory (Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander)-Defeated the Bravado Brothers on 5/16 at OMEGA Wrestling and then followed that up with a 6 Man Tag Team Victory over Matt Taven & the ROH World Tag Team Champions, reDRagon. Have won 4 of their last 5 as a team.
8. Matt Taven-The ROH TV Champion drops a few spots with a 1-1 weekend. While he did defeat Alex Arion at Chaotic Wrestling on 5/17, he lost a big 6 man tag team match on 5/18 at ROH vs. Cedric Alexander, Caprice Coleman, and Jay Lethal.
9. Tommaso Ciampa-Another 2-0 weekend finally gets him in. He defeated Kristian Frost & Ricky Reyes while teaming with Jason Blade at XWA on 5/17 and then defeated Chris LeRusso at ROH on 5/18. While he is picking up more and more victories, like he said at ROH, it’s time for him to get some competition.
10. Ricochet-Went 3-1 at Dragon Gate over the weekend with a big singles victory over Masato Yoshino, followed by a loss Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk, & Uhaa Nation in 6 Man Tag Team Action. Finished the weekend with a tag team win over Jimmy Kanda & Mr. Quu Quu, then won again in tag team action with Dragon Kid over Uhaa Nation & Kzy. His 2 week record is now 6-2
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
John Morrison, Jamin Olivencia, King Mo, and Athena
Just missing out:
AR Fox- The current CZW Wired TV Champion and EVOLVE Champion falls from #1 to honourable mention this week after a loss to Slyck Wagner Brown at 2CW. It was a quality loss, but a loss vs. lesser known wrestler, Wes Draven at PWA on 5/18, bumped him completely this week.
Brian Cage-The big man got back on the winning track with a victory over Drake Younger at Fighting Spirit Pro on 5/17.
Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)- The current PWG Tag Team Champions and DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions got all the way to the finals of the CHIKARA Grand Prix but fell to Pieces of Hate to go to 2-1 on the weekend, just missing out on the IPR this weekend.
Rockstar Spud-At the 5/15 OVW TV Tapings, the former OVW TV Champion was defeated in a 4 Way Tag Team Match by Rudy Switchblade and Eddie Diamond (also involving Mobile Homers and the Coalition).
Jake Crist-One half of the Irish Airborne and a member of OI4K as well as one half of the current IWA East Coast Tag Team Champions, JCW Tag Team Champions, AAW Tag Team Champions, and the IPW Heavyweight Champion went 2-0 this week with a win over Ron Mathis at RSPW on 5/15 and then a clean victory over Jimmy Jacobs at AAW on 5/17.
Isys Ephex-The 2CW Heavyweight Champion successfully defended his title vs. Kevin Steen and Eddie Edwards on 5/17 with an impressive victory.
Rob Conway-The NWA World Heavyweight Champion successfully defended his title vs. Ricky Morton on 5/18 at NWA Smoky Mountain.
reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)-The ROH World Tag Team Champions lost in 6 man tag team action vs. C&C Wrestle Factory and Jay Lethal on 5/18. O’Reilly was successful in teaming with Davey Richards on 5/17 at AAW vs. ACH & Michael Elgin.
Slyck Wagner Brown-Scored an impressive victory over AR Fox at 2CW on 5/17 but lost vs. Kahagas the next night at NWWE.
Johnny Gargano-The DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion is finally back on the right track. After getting to the finals of the XCW Title Tournament, he picked up a win this week vs. Tyson Dux for Smash Wrestling on 5/19. He could very well in the IPR again soon.
Kevin Steen-“Wrestling’s Worst Nightmare” went 2-1 on the weekend after a loss at 2CW in a 3 way vs. Isys Ephex and Eddie Edwards and then 2 victories over Jimmy Jacobs at ROH on 5/18. He could jump back into the IPR any time now.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of May 27th, 2013:
1. Ricochet-Jumped from 10 to 1 with a HUGE week. First, he picked up a victory in New Japan vs. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku, teaming with Kenny Omega. He then won his first match in the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors vs. Trent ?. Next, he went back to Dragon Gate and beat Jimmy Susumu and Shingo Takagi to win the Dragon Gate “King of Gate” Tournament.
2. Ethan Page-“All Ego” makes his first appearance in the IPR with a BANG. He successfully defended his Battle Arts title vs. Kevin Steen on 5/23. He then went to AIW and beat Seleyzia Sparx, Davey Vega, and finally Michael Elgin & Johnny Gargano (in a 3 way) to win the J.T. Lightning Invitational Tournament.
3. C&C Wrestle Factory (Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander)-This team continues their roll with a win over “Team Ambition” (Davey Richards and Kyle O’Reilly) at OMEGA on 5/25.
4. Randy Royal-The OVW TV picked up a countout victory over Dylan Bostic at the 5/22 OVW TV Taping
5. Arik Royal-The CWF Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion went 3-0 on the weekend with a win vs. Chase Brown at EVO, vs. Ric Converse at OMEGA, and vs. Aaron Solo at PWX.
6. Johnny Gargano-The Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate Champion gets back into the IPR on the strength of his performance in the J.T. Lightning Invitational Tournament by defeating Matt Cross, Adam Cross, and Kimber Lee, before finally losing to Ethan Page in a 3 way with Michael Elgin in the finals.
7. Jay Lethal-The former “Black Machismo” gets back into the IPR after a trip to the UK where he won the SWE “Speed King” tournament by defeating Noam Dar, and then won a 6 way vs. Dean Allmark, El Ligero, Martin Kirby, Marty Scurll, and MK McKinnan. The next day at AWW on 5/26, he defeated Nathan Cruz to improve his record to 3-0 on the weekend.
8. Brian Cage-The Fucking Machine went to Florida and came out victorious with a win over Tommy Taylor at CWF Continental.
9. Rockstar Spud-Got back on the winning track with an 8 man tag team match win over the Coalition at the 5/22 OVW TV Taping.
10. Scorpio Sky-Another big weekend for the CWF Hollywood Heritage Champion gets him into the IPR. On 5/25 he went to MWE and defeated Ricky Mandel. He followed that up the next day at AWS with a win over B-Boy.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
American Wolves (as a team), Jay Briscoe, Eddie Kingston, Pieces of Hate, The Young Bucks, Isys Ephex, Slyck Wagner Brown, Bobby Fish
Just missing out:
Jake Manning & John Skyler-The unlikely tag team pairing beat 3 teams to win the PWX Tag Team Titles in a one night tournament.
Caleb Konley-The PWX Champion scored a big victory over Davey Richards on 5/26 at PWX after beating Jake Manning the previous night at OMEGA. On 5/24, he lost to John Skyler by disqualification.
Shelton Benjamin-The former WWE Tag Team Champion went overseas and went 2-0 at 4FW Kingdom Rising with wins over Sha Samuels and Behnam Ali. His appearances have been rare, but he’s won 3 straight.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of June 3rd, 2013:
1. Randy Royal-The OVW TV Champion scored yet another victory at the 5/29 OVW TV Taping with a win vs. Paredyse and then followed that up with another successful title defense vs. Rockstar Spud. He becomes the second OVW TV Champion to reach the #1 spot.
2. AR Fox-A 4-0 weekend gets the EVOLVE/CZW Wired TV Champion out of his slump and back into the IPR with wins over Nick Jackson, EITA, EITA & Tomahawk TT, and Lince Dorado, he came just short of getting the #1 again this week.
3. Johnny Gargano-The Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate Champion went 3-1 on the weekend with wins over Matt Jackson, EITA & Tomahawk TT, and Samuray Del Sol. His lone loss was to Tomahawk TT in a hotly contested match.
4. Brian Cage-The Fucking Machine continued his dominance in Florida for EVOLVE with wins over Chuck Taylor, the Young Bucks, and before finally losing to the FIP Champion Jon Davis in a hard fought battle.
5. Arik Royal-The CWF Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Champion continued his winning ways with a victory in a 6 man tag team match on 6/1 vs. Solomon Spades, Chase Dakota, & Joe Black. He has been the model of consistency.
6. Jay Lethal-The former “Black Machismo” continued his impressive string of victories with a win over ACH in his hometown of San Antonio for ROH.
7. Jay Briscoe-The ROH World Champion continues his singles winning streak with yet another successful title defense vs. Davey Richards in San Antonio, Texas.
8. Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw and The Shard)-4 straight wins and they’re now the CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas after defeating 3.0 at CHIKARA on 6/2.
9. Ricochet-Had a rough start to the week in the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors tournament with losses to Prince Devitt and Rocky Romero, but did bounce back with wins vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Titan, and Tacihi on 6/1, 6/2, and 6/3.
10. Cherry Bomb-3 wins in one night and she becomes the third female to make it into the IPR by winning the 2CW Girls Grand Prix 2 Tournament by defeating Courtney Rush, Nikki Roxx, and Allysin Kay and Jessicka Havok in a 3 way.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
American Wolves (as a team), reDRagon (as a team), C&C Wrestle Factory (as a team), John Morrison, Jonathan Gresham, Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page, Jake Manning & John Skyler (as a team)
Just missing out:
Isys Ephex-The 2CW Heavyweight Champion has racked up win after win in that promotion and this weekend was no different with another successful title defense vs. Pepper Parks.
Kevin Graham & Mike Van Syke-The 2CW Tag Team Champions defeated Team CK (Kage & Sean Carr) on 6/1 to extend their winning streak to 6 matches straight.
Eddie Edwards-One half of the American Wolves defeated ROH TV Champion Matt Taven in San Antonio, TX to earn a future TV title shot.
Shelton Benjamin-The former WWE Tag Team Champion continued to win overseas as he defeated Martin Kirby at PCW No Retreat and Emil Sitoci at DPW Grand Slam 2013. He’s inches away from his first appearance in the IPR.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of June 10th, 2013:
1. Randy Royal-The OVW TV Champion is seemingly unstoppable at this point. He picked up ANOTHER victory at the June 5th OVW TV Tapings vs. Tony Gunn. #1 holds the same.
2. AR Fox-The EVOLVE/CZW Wired TV Champion went to Chile of all places and won himself another title by defeating Bunny, Beto Velez, and Sito King. He is now the 1st ever International CLL All Star Champion. #2 also holds the same.
3. Jay Briscoe-The ROH World Champion successfully defended his title once again on 5/8 vs. Eddie Edwards to continue his unlikely reign as champion.
4. Danny Havoc-The CZW veteran went into CZW’s Tournament of Death and ran through Rory Mondo, Ron Mathis, and Scotty Vortekz to win one of the U.S.’s biggest death match tournaments.
5. Aaron Williams-Went to a no contest on 6/5 at RSPW vs. Matt Taylor and then teamed with him to defeat CW Scott & Michael. Followed that up by becoming the first ever RSPW Champion by beating 3 men in one night in Alex Colon, Ron Mathis, and Benjamin Kimera.
6. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)-The ROH World Tag Team Champions continue their winning ways with a win over ACH & Tadarius Thomas on 6/8. They only have one loss in 2 on 2 competition as a team.
7. The Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter)-The Zero 1 USA Tag Team Champions continued their impressive win streak with another successful title defense, this time over the Sons of Michigan (Benjamin Boone & N8Mattson).
8. Davey Richards-A 2-0 weekend with wins over Kyle Maverick at D1W and Cedric Alexander at ROH gets Davey his first appearance as a singles competitor in the IPR.
9. Scorpio Sky-Another big weekend for this high flying athlete as he won a 4 way at EWF over Raccid Najar, Uptown Andy Brown, and SoCal Crazy. Followed that up with a victory over Eric Watts at AOW to become the NEW AOW Heavyweight Champion.
10. Mikey Webb-What a weekend for this IPR first timer. He defeated Alex Arion, Jimmy James, MPG, Slyck Wagner Brown, and Vinny Marseglia in a 6 Way to win the CW Heavyweight Title. The next night at NECW he defeated Mark Shurman & Scotty Slade to win the tag team titles.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
American Wolves (as a team), C&C Wrestle Factory (as a team), John Morrison, Jonathan Gresham, Arik Royal, Ethan Page, Jake Manning & John Skyler (as a team)
Just missing out:
Ricochet-Started the week off strong with a victory over the legendary Jushin ‘Thunder Liger in the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors Tournament on 6/4 and a tag team win over CIMA & Dragon Kid on 6/5 but lost on 6/6 to Alex Shelley and then again to Jushin Thunder Liger, BUSHI, KUSHIDA, Tiger Mask, & Titan on 6/9 to go 2-2 on the week.
Jay Bradley-The future TNA star picked up a win vs. Ryan Howe at the 6/5 OVW TV Taping running his record to 9-1 (reported matches) since April 10th, not counting his victories in the TNA Gut Check Tournament.
Prince Mustafa Ali-Had an impressive 2-0 weekend at Dream Wave Wrestling by defeating CJ Esparza, Lince Dorado, and Samuray Del Sol in a 4 way on 6/7 and then CJ Esparza on 6/8.
Christian Rose-A 2-0 weekend at Dream Wave Wrestling gets him an honourable mention as he defeated Alex Castle on 6/7 and Arya Daivari on 6/8.
Roderick Strong-The first mention in the IPR for the former ROH World Champion as he defeated QT Marshall on 6/8 to extend his newly found ROH winning streak.
Michael Hayes-Winner of 3 straight after defeating Crimson at the OVW TV Taping on 6/5
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of June 17th, 2013:
1. Arik Royal-The IPR model of consistency successfully defended his CWF Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title vs. Zane Dawson in a wild match on 6/15 and extends his streak without a loss. From our records and all known searches, he has not lost in 2013. He finally gets his spot at #1.
2. Drake Younger-Another strong week for “The Psycho Shooter” as he made a surprise appearance at IWA Mid-South on 6/14 with a victory over Trik Davis. He flew out to the west coast and picked up a win over Kevin Steen on 6/15. On 6/16, he successfully defended his SPW Extreme Title vs. Joe DeSoul to push his record to 3-0 on the weekend.
3. Jonathan Gresham-A very successful week gets the returning ZERO1 Quadruple Junior Heavyweight Champion back into the Top 10. First, he successfully defended his titles vs. Jack Anthony in Japan on 6/12. He followed that up with a victory over Tarek the Great at IWA Mid South’s “Old Scars & Bad Blood” on 6/14. He ended the week on 6/15 at Pro Wrestling Impire with a 30 minute time limit draw vs. Dustin Rayz.
4. Aaron Williams-Another week and another victory. It’s like clockwork at RSPW now as he teamed with Matt Taylor & Ron Mathis to defeat Lil C, Trice, & Pompano Joe in 6 Man Tag Team Action. He followed that up with a win over Lil C & Trice in tag team action with Matt Taylor on 6/15 at RSPW.
5. Randy Royal-The OVW TV Champion FINALLY lost a match! The #1 in the last 2 weeks of the IPR finally went down to Jay Bradley at the OVW TV Tapings on June 12th….non-title. While his reign at #1 ends at two weeks, his reign as OVW TV Champion continues!
6. Adam Thornstowe-Became the first ever QPW Champion on 6/16 as he defeated three wrestlers in one night to win the title. Not only three wrestlers, but three of the best in the U.S. First he defeated Joey Ryan, then Kevin Steen, and he topped the night off with a victory over Brian Cage to win the tournament and the title.
7. Façade-Makes his first appearance in the IPR with three victories in one night, first over Jimmy Rave, then over Extreme Tiger, finishing it off with a win over Gory and Tony Nese in a 3 Way Dance to win the IWC Super Indy XII Tournament along with the IWC Super Indy Title.
8. Jay Bradley- The only man to beat the OVW TV Champion, Randy Royal since winning that title is now Jay Bradley. He also holds a victory over the OVW Heavyweight Champion, Jamin Olivencia recently. He has now extended his record to 10-1 (reported matches) since April 10th (not counting his victories in the TNA Gut Check Tournament).
9. Brian Cage-The dominant big man had another great weekend. He went 3-1 on the weekend overall. He started it off by teaming with Michael Elgin for a tag team victory over the RockNES Monsters on 6/15 at PWG (they’re 4-1 as a team overall) and 2 straight wins in the QPW Title Tournament on 6/16 (over Ray Rosas and Eddie Edwards) before losing in the finals to Adam Thornstowe.
10. Mikey Webb-Stays strong at #10 with a win over Brian Fury on 6/14 at the UFO Wrestling Children’s Hospital Benefit show.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
American Wolves (as a team), Jay Briscoe, C&C Wrestle Factory (as a team), reDRagon (as a team), Pieces of Hate (as a team), John Morrison, Eddie Kingston, Ethan Page, Jake Manning & John Skyler (as a team), and Danny Havoc
Just missing out:
Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)-A 2-0 weekend gets the Dragon Gate USA and PWG Tag Team Champions back on track as they defeated AR Fox & Samuray Del Sol on 6/15 at PWG and the RockNES Monsters on 6/16 at QPW.
Kyle O’Reilly-One half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions comes very close to making his first singles appearance in the IPR with a victory over Davey Richards at PWG on 6/15 to run his current winning streak to 3.
Rene Bustamante-Could have made his first ever appearance in the IPR by winning the Summer Classic 2013 Tournament at So Cal Pro if he had beaten 3 opponents, but by attacking So Cal Crazy, he only defeated 2 men (Ricky Mandel & Tommy Wilson) to win the tournament.
Matt Taylor-Another 2-0 week has him on the verge of getting back into the IPR after a 6 Man Tag Team win over Lil C, Trice, & Pompano Joe on 6/12. Capped off the weekend by teaming with Aaron Williams to defeat Trice & Lil C at the 6/15 RSPW show.
Rockstar Spud-The former OVW TV Champion scored not one, but two victories at the 6/12 OVW TV Taping. First, he defeated Fabiano Rolento. He then teamed with Sam Shaw, Ryan Howe and Rudy Switchblade to defeat The Coalition (Joe Coleman, Shiloh Jonze, Ghillie and Raul LaMotta) by disqualification. Once a top 10 mainstay in the IPR, he almost gets back in and could soon be back on top at #1 in the near future.
Roderick Strong-Continued his success teaming with Eddie Edwards at the 6/15 PWG show as they defeated Johnny Gargano and Chuck Taylor
Vordell Walker-Became the NWA National Heavyweight Champion after a Steel Cage match vs. Damien Wayne on 6/14 at NWA SAW Gathering of the Champions. The next night on 6/15 he travelled to WrestleForce and defeated Cedric Alexander.
Doug Williams-Ever since TNA made the decision to let Williams go, he has been on fire. On 6/15 at RPW in London, he defeated Hiromu Takahashi. The next day at NBWA in Oxfordshire, he teamed with T-Bone to defeat the Magnums (Chris Walker & Dick Riley). He has won 5 of his last 6 contests with the only non-win being a Time Limit Draw.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of June 24th, 2013:
1. Jay Briscoe-The ROH World Champion becomes #1 for the first time after a 2-0 weekend to extend his singles winning streak. On 6/22 at Best in the World, he defeated his own brother, Mark, in an epic battle. He followed that up with a victory over Matt Hardy at the ROH TV Tapings on 6/23 to retain the ROH World Title.
2. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)-The ROH World Tag Team Champions stepped up to the plate this weekend and continued their dominance. First they defeated Jimmy Jacobs & Cliff Compton and C&C Wrestle Factory in a 3 Way to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles at Best in the World. They then defended the titles vs. C&C Wrestle Factory in a straight up tag team match and were successful again. They still have only one loss in tag team action as a team.
3. American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)-Another weekend and two more victories for them. Their only loss since reforming came against the current ROH World Tag Team Champions. The only tag team to be #1 in the IPR continue their hunt for the ROH World Tag Team Titles…and the #1 spot again.
4. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions and DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions went 2-0 on the weekend. First, at F.W.E., they picked up a victory over Jigsaw & Tony Nese. They followed that up with a HUGE victory over the former WWE Tag Team Champions, Brian Kendrick & Paul London at House of Hardcore’s 2nd show.
5. Matt Taven-The ROH TV Champion was involved in two hard fought battles on the weekend, but came out of the weekend STILL the champion. At Best in the World, he was able to fend off the challenge of Jimmy Jacobs and Jay Lethal to retain the title and then followed that up with one of the biggest victories of his career vs. Eddie Edwards at the 6/23 ROH TV Tapings.
6. Ricochet-The Dragon Gate King of Gate 2013 and former IPR #1 makes his way back into the IPR with 4 straight victories at Dragon Gate over the weekend. After a few random losses, Ricochet has picked up a lot of steam and is looking to get back in the #1 spot.
7. John Morrison-The former #1 in the IPR makes a big comeback this week after a long period of inactivity by defeating Carlito for the F.W.E. Title. He then went into House of Hardcore’s 2nd show and defeated 2 Cold Scorpio to retain the title.
8. Rob Van Dam-The former WWE, TNA, and ECW World Champion makes his first (and probably only) appearance in the IPR by defeating Tommy Dreamer at F.W.E. on 6/21 in an Extreme Rules Match, RJ Brewer at BTW on 6/22, followed by one last victory over Sami Callihan on 6/24 at 2CW.
9. Rockstar Spud-The former OVW TV Champion makes his way back into the IPR after a victory over Jessie Godderz at the 6/19 OVW TV Taping to extend his streak to 3. He has won 5 of 6 overall.
10. Michael Elgin-Despite some recent struggles, the AAW Heavyweight Champion came up big this weekend with a win over Tommaso Ciampa at ROH Best in the World and then followed that up by winning the Steel Cage Warfare vs. Jimmy Jacobs, Cliff Compton, Rhino, and Rhett Titus at the 6/23 ROH TV Tapings. He has now won 3 straight matches.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Arik Royal, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Jake Manning & John Skyler (as a team), and Danny Havoc
Just missing out:
Aaron Williams-Falls out this week due to heavy competition, but could easily get back in shortly. Went to a No Contest in tag action teaming with Matt Taylor vs. Dave & Jake Crist at Rock Star Pro Wrestling Amped on 6/19.
Shelton Benjamin-After about 3 weeks of inactivity, Shelton Benjamin travelled to NJPW and teamed with Minoru Suzuki to defeat CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii) on 6/22 to make it 6 straight wins for the former WWE Intercontinental Champion.
Sabu-The Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, death defying maniac known as Sabu has exploded back on to the indy scene with wins over BJ Whitmer at IWA Mid-South, and now weekend wins over Drake Younger and TJ Perkins in California for VPW & AWS. He’s inching his way closer to a spot in the IPR.
Amasis-Winner of 5 of 6 matches now. Successfully defended the WIF! Banana Title on 6/22 vs. Juan Francisco de Coronado.
Bravado Brothers (Harlem & Lancelot Bravado)-Winners of 3 of 4 tag team matches. They picked up another victory at WIF! Over the Baltic Seige on 6/22.
Rob Conway-The NWA World Champion continued his success over the weekend with a title defense vs. Manabu Nakanishi at NJPW on 6/22.
Matt Taylor-Teamed with Aaron Williams and went to a No Contest vs. Dave & Jake Crist at Rock Star Pro Wrestling Amped on 6/19. Still teetering on the verge of the IPR.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of July 1st, 2013:
1. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions, DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions, and IWL Tag Team Champions successfully defended their IWL Tag Titles at IWL’s “Too Insane For Television” vs. Willie Mack & Famous B to continue their West Coast dominance. They earn their first ever #1 ranking in the IPR.
2. Kyle O’Reilly-One half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions took his show on the road over the weekend, picking up a tag team victory (teaming with Davey Richards) over The Hooligans at St. Louis Anarchy “Circus Maximus” on 6/28. He followed that up with a singles victory vs. Mr. Elite on 6/29 at PWX. This is his highest singles ranking to date in the IPR.
3. Davey Richards-One half of the American Wolves teamed with his sometimes rival Kyle O’Reilly and defeated The Hooligans at St. Louis Anarchy “Circus Maximus”on 6/28 to continue his success as of late. Winner of 5 of 6 overall.
4. Johnny Gargano-A 2-0 weekend for the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion shoots him right to the top of the IPR as he was the only loss for Ethan Page on the weekend (at AIW). He also scored a big win in the Wrestling Cares “Race for the Ring” tournament vs. Chase Stevens on 6/29. The only man to threepeat as the #1 in the IPR is on his way up again.
5. Ethan Page-What a weekend for “All Ego”. First, he travelled to AAW and teamed with Josh Alexander to defeat Zero Gravity in tag team competition. Next, he went to Alpha One Wrestling in Canada and defeated Cheech, RJ City, and Mike Rollins to win the Alpha Male Title. Finally, he went to AIW in Cleveland for “Absolution VIII” where he lost to Johnny Gargano but made up for it with an Absolute Title win over Colin Delaney to move his weekend record to 3-1 with two title wins.
6. Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke-The TRP Heavyweight Champion had an insane weekend. He successfully defended his TRP Title vs. Nick Steel on 6/28. He followed that up with 3 victories in one night over Anthony Stone, Gran Akuma, and Green Ant to win the Wrestling is Respect “Quest for the Best” Tournament to run his record to 4-0 on the weekend. This marks his first appearance in the IPR.
7. Chip Day-The EVO Super Hex and PWX Innovative TV Champion had a dominant weekend with two successful title defenses. On 6/28 at EVO, he defended the Super Hex title vs. Caleb Konley. The next day on 6/29 at PWX, he defeated Corey Hollis and Trevor Lee to retain the Innovative TV Title. This is his first appearance in the IPR.
8. BJ Whitmer-The winner of 4 straight now. He went into the weekend and defeated Shaun Tempers at Wrestling Cares on 6/29 and then followed that up with a successful AIW Intense title defense in a 4 way vs. Bobby Beverly, Matt Cross, and Rickey Shane Page. Surprisingly, this is his very first IPR appearance.
9. Rockstar Spud-The former OVW TV Champion continues his current hot streak and holds strong after a victory on 6/26 at the OVW TV Taping vs. Paredyse & Melvin Maximus (teaming with Ryan Howe).
10. Ricochet-The Dragon Gate King of Gate 2013 and former IPR #1 falls a bit after a successful, but not unblemished weekend. He went 2-1 with wins over YAMATO, BxB Hulk, & Uhaa Nation on 6/28, Genki Horiguchi, Jimmy Susumu, & Ryo Saito on 6/29, before finally losing to CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki, & Gamma on 6/30.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, John Morrison, Sabu, Roderick Strong, C&C Wrestle Factory (as a team), and Danny Havoc
Just missing out:
Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw & The Shard)-After a long period of inactivity as a team, they just missed out this week after defeating Delirious & Leech Landa at Wrestling is Respect on 6/30. They have won 6 straight and 7 of the last 8 matches as a team.
Brian Cage-“The Fucking Machine” continued his strong showings on the West Coast as he successfully defended his PWB TV Title vs. Oliver John on 6/30.
Adam Thornstowe-The QPW Champion continued his winning ways as he defeated Sir Samurai in a contenders match at the PWB show on 6/30.
Cedric Alexander-Had a strong weekend and came very close to making his first singles appearance in the IPR this week after victories over Trevor Lee at Pro Wrestling EVO and Jay Lethal at PWX.
Johnny Savoi-Made a HUGE title defense with a win over Drake Younger on 6/28 on IPPV at IWL’s “Too Insane for Television”. A little more activity could get him into the IPR in the near future.
Randy Royal-The OVW TV Champion and former repeat #1 took a step towards making his way back into the Indy Power Rankings after successfully defending his title at the 6/26 OVW TV Tapings vs. Tony Gunn.
The Dark Guns (Aaron Williams & Matt Taylor)-This Rockstar Pro Wrestling tag team went into WAR on 6/29 and scored a big win over the WAR Tag Team Champions The Scarbonis in a non- title match.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of July 8th, 2013:
1. Ricochet-The winner of 3 straight and a STAGGERING 10 of 11 matches overall makes the leap from #10 to #1 for the second time to claim his second #1 ranking. 3 wins during this voting period in six man and straight up tag team action at Dragon Gate in Japan iced the #1 spot for the 2013 King of Gate.
2. Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke-The TRP Heavyweight Champion successfully defended his title in a Steel Cage match on 7/5 vs. Nick Steel for Top Rope Promotions. He then took his alter ego to Wrestling is Awesome in Maine and scored an impressive win over Drew Gulak. Scored another win vs. Hallowicked to run his weekend record to 3-0. He has now won (at least) 7 in a row.
3. Jonathan Gresham- The Quadruple Junior Heavyweight Champion had another successful title defense on 7/5 at FIP as he defeated Lince Dorado to continue his winning ways. He looks to earn his first ever #1 ranking with continued title defenses all over the U.S. and Japan.
4. Cedric Alexander-Two straight undefeated weekends for this rising star as he travelled to CWF Mid-Atlantic and scored a win over Brandon Day to make his first singles appearance in the IPR.
5. Christian Rose-Winner of (at least) 4 straight at various promotions around the Midwest, this up and comer has earned his first appearance in the IPR with victories over the weekend at UWC & Pro Wrestling Glory. Keep an eye out for him as he continues to rise up the ranks.
6. Adam Thornstowe-The QPW and APW Universal Champion successfully defended his Universal title and continued his winning ways on 7/6 with a win in a 3 Way vs. B-Boy & Jeckles the Jester.
7. American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)-The former #1 in the IPR and former ROH World Tag Team Champions travelled to Mexico and picked up a 4 way tag victory over Flamita & Hacker, Jinzo & Principe Halcon, and Aeroboy & Violento Jack. They finally lost to someone other than reDRagon on 7/6 when they were defeated in a 3 way tag team match by Drastik Boy & Flamita in a match also involving Daga & Eterno.
8. Colt Cabana-Had a good weekend at ECCW as he teamed with Artemis Spencer & Ravenous Randy to defeat GODS & Ice on 7/5 and defeated Bishop in singles competition on 7/6. Travelled to Mexico for WWL on 7/7 and defeated El Hijo de Fishman. Surprisingly, this is his first IPR appearance.
9. Bravado Brothers (Lancelot & Harlem Bravado)-They got their first taste of gold on 7/5 at FIP when they won a 3 Way Tag Team Title match vs. Dos Ben Dejos & KOA to run their recent record to 4 out of the last 5. This marks their first appearance in the IPR.
10. Green Ant-Scored 2 wins over the weekend at Wrestling is Awesome as he defeated Jaka on 7/6 and Kobald on 7/7. He has now won 7 of 8 overall.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, John Morrison, Michael Elgin, Eddie Kingston, AR Fox, Roderick Strong, C&C Wrestle Factory (as a team), and Danny Havoc
Just missing out:
Dylan Bostic-The NEW OVW TV Champion ended the almost 2 month reign of Randy Royal on 7/3 with a big victory to dethrone the former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings. He followed that up with a successful title defense vs. Eddie Diamond at OVW’s Saturday Night Special on 7/6. He’s hoping to pick up some momentum as his last couple of months of action have been a mixed bag of wins and losses. The last 2 OVW TV Champions have reached #1 in the Indy Power Rankings…can the youngers, Dylan Bostic do the same?
Ron Mathis-Another good week at Rockstar Pro Wrestling as he won a 4 Way on 7/3 over Jon Murray, Alex Colon, & Josh Crane, and then followed that up with a victory in a 4 Way on 7/5 vs. Benjamin Kimera, Zakk Spadez, & Josh Crane to gain entry into the 6 Pack Challenge for the RSPW Heavyweight Title.
Arik Royal-After losing his first match of 2013 at Pro Wrestling EVO last week, the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion bounced back with a tag team victory over Jesse Ortega & Michael McAllister.
Reed Bentley-He is mere inches away from getting into the IPR after yet another victory over the weekend. This time he topped Ian Rotten with a loaded forearm on 7/7.
Drake Younger-The SPW Xtreme Champion added to his collection by winning the APW Worldwide Internet Championship in a big match vs. Timothy Thatcher on 7/6. His tag team loss vs. the Stoner Bros. cost him his shot at the IPR this week.
Uhaa Nation-The FIP Florida Heritage Champion is starting to pick up some momentum as he’s won 4 of 5 and went 2-1 on the weekend at Dragon Gate. The big man had cooled off a bit in the month of June, but things are starting to heat up in July as he’s hoping to get to the spot that has eluded him…the #1 Ranking.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of July 15th, 2013:
1. Adam Thornstowe-The QPW Heavyweight, APW Universal, and FSW Tag Team Champion has become Ultimo Dragon 2K13 on the West Coast as he is racking up title wins. On 7/13, his tag team of “Reno Scum” put their FSW tag team titles on the line vs. Suburban Commandos vs. RockNES Monsters vs. Paul London in a 4 Way Match and came out on top. By virtue of this win, and his many recent wins vs. some of the top names in the sport, Adam Thornstowe has earned his first ever #1 Ranking in the IPR
2. American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)-Another weekend and another victory for the former #1 in the IPR and former ROH World Tag Team Champions as they took down Jay Lethal & Michael Elgin at ROH on 7/13. Another tag team collision vs. reDRagon seems to imminent.
3. Bobby Fish-Why Bobby Fish in singles and not reDRagon as a tag team? Simple. Competition. While reDRagon has been amazing as a team, their lone match on the weekend was vs. Roderick Strong and an unproven Cheeseburger at a Night of Hoopla. Fish then went on to singles matches vs. Davey Richards on 7/12 and ACH on 7/13 and won them both to go 3-0 on the weekend. reDRagon will return to the IPR, but for now, it’s one half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions making his mark at #3.
4. Shane Hollister-The AAW Heavyweight Champion finally gets his due as he went into CZW, competed in a 6 way against 5 of the best athletes in the sport (Caleb Konley, Dark Sheik, Dave Crist, Ron Mathis, & Rory Mondo), and he emerged victorious. That’s two straight wins for the rising star with 4 out of 5 overall.
5. Mike Bennett-Whether you call him “The Prodigy” or not, Bennett has been on a roll lately. He went 3-0 this weekend at Ring of Honor as he ran right through BJ Whitmer, Andy Muscant, and Rhino. He’s now won 5 straight overall.
6. Reed Bentley-If you don’t know “Cut Throat” Reed Bentley by now, it’s time to wake up. He went 3-0 this week for Pro Wrestling Evolution, DWW, and VWAA as he defeated Larry D, Dan Lawrence, and Jervis Cottonbelly. That makes (at least) 4 straight wins for the up and comer.
7. Drake Younger-The other “West Coast Ultimo Dragon” picked up yet another title as he won the IWL Anarchy Title vs. Ray Rosas on 7/12 to go along with his SPW Xtreme & APW Worldwide Internet titles.
8. Rain-The NEW SHINE Champion becomes just the 4th woman wrestler to reach the Indy Power Rankings by winning a one night tournament on 7/13 over LuFisto, Jessicka Havok, and Mia Yim to become the champion.
9. Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke-The TRP Heavyweight Champion defeated Craig Costa at TRP on 7/13 to continue his winning ways, but that night, his insane winning streak ended when he was defeated by AR Fox at CZW on 7/13. He looks to turn things around next weekend vs. Eddie Edwards at Beyond Wrestling.
10. Prince Mustafa Ali-Losing isn’t something he’s very familiar with, so what did he do? He made sure he didn’t lose over the weekend. With a weekend record of 2-0-1, Ali makes his first appearance in the IPR. On 7/12 he defeated Carlos Rivera at CSW. On 7/13 he went to a time limit draw with last week’s #5 Christian Rose at DWW. He capped off the weekend with a victory over Matt Cage at VWAA on 7/14. From “recorded” stats (stats that are able to be at least somewhat easily found), he has not lost a match since mid-May. For fans unfamiliar with his work, look for him at IWA Mid-South’s TPI in September.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, Eddie Kingston, Brian Cage, and C&C Wrestle Factory (as a team)
Just missing out:
Tommaso Ciampa-“The Sicilian Psychopath” makes his return to the Indy Power Rankings after a strong weekend at Ring of Honor as he defeated Rhino on 7/12 and Silas Young on 7/13. He has now won 3 out of 4. He’s looking to make his mark on the indy scene as he is one of the participants in the ROH World Title Tournament.
Matt Taven-The ROH World TV Champion had a solid weekend at Ring of Honor as he went 2-1 with big victories over Eddie Edwards/Adam Cole in a 3 Way Dance and a singles victory over Kevin Steen.
AR Fox-After a little bit of inactivity, Fox got back into the swing of things with a big victory over last week’s #2 Biff Busick at CZW. The EVOLVE and CZW Wired TV Champion is looking to get back into the hunt for the #1 spot.
Johnny Saovi-The IWL Champion continued to rack impressive victories as he once again successfully defended his title vs. Eric Cross on 7/12.
Papadon-“The Greek God” went into ECWA on 7/13 and not only defeated Vordell Walker, but he beat VSK later on in the evening to become the NEW ECWA Unified Heavyweight Champion.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of July 22nd, 2013:
1. Prince Mustafa Ali-This marks the first #1 ranking for the Proving Ground Pro Franchise Champion. With a weekend record of 2-0 and 4 straight wins, Ali jumps from #10 to #1. On 7/20 he successfully defended his Franchise title vs. ROH star Michael Elgin at Proving Ground Pro. He then followed that up with a tag team victory at GALLI Lucha Libre on 7/21 with Matt Knicks vs. The Syndicate (Jon Morales & 2013 Tercera Caida Trophy Winner Mason Conrad). Has a huge collision vs. Christian Rose coming up at DWW “Adversity” on 8/3. Also a participant in this year’s IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational in September.
2. Jonathan Gresham- The Quadruple Junior Heavyweight Champion had another successful title defense on 7/20 at IWA-Mid South’s “Simply the Best 9” vs. Hy-Zaya. The international superstar came just shy of hitting the #1 spot for the first time this week.
3. Christian Rose-After going to a time limit draw last week against this week’s #1, Rose barely slipped out of the Indy Power Rankings. This week, he’s back with a vengeance. First, he went to 3XW on 7/18 and picked up a victory over Jeff Maddocks. On 7/19 he went to SCW and teamed with Danny Daniels to go to a no contest vs. Last week’s # 4 Shane Hollister and Matt Cage. On 7/20 he defeated JJ Garrett via pinfall at SCW. He capped off the weekend by winning the Best of the Midwest 4 Way at Funky Munky Wrestling over Matt Cage, Shane Hollister, and Markus Crane. At this rate, it’s hard to argue with him being called “The Best of the Midwest”
4. Davey Richards-After being #2 with Eddie Edwards last week, they were inactive as a team. Never one to stop the grind, Davey Richards went to IWA Mid-South “Simply the Best 9” and defeated Scotty Vortekz in an indy dream match. Make that 3 out of 4 for one half of the American Wolves.
5. Johnny Gargano-The Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate Champion heads into DGUSA weekend with a strong victory vs. JT Dunn. The former multiple time #1 in the IPR has a legitimate shot at leaving next weekend as the #1 once again.
6. PPRay (Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas)-Despite their struggles in singles over the weekend, this up and coming West Coast tag team was dominant in tag team action. They once again successfully defended their AWS Tag Team titles vs. SOCAL Crazy & Che Cabrera on 7/20. On 7/21, they added to their new title collection as they defeated Los Banditos, The Tribe, and The RockNES Monsters to win the CWF Hollywood Tag Team Titles.
7. Cedric Alexander-One half of the C&C Wrestle Factory went into the weekend having won 3 of 4 (with the lone loss coming to Matt Hardy last weekend). He proceeded to take down Goliath as he defeated Tommaso Ciampa at PWX to continue his winning ways, making it 4 out of 5 now.
8. Isys Ephex-The 2CW Heavyweight Champion returns to the IPR as he successfully defended his title twice over the weekend. First, he defeated Dalton Castle on 7/19. Next, he defeated Mike Mondo on 7/20. That makes 6 successful title defenses for Ephex.
9. Green Ant-Living proof of how just one week of inactivity can hurt as he certainly could be ranked higher at this point. He has, however, won 3 straight and 8 of 9, overall, after a tag team victory over Los Ice Creams at Wrestling is Cool on 7/21.
10. Ricochet-Although he had a miserable 0-3 weekend at Dragon Gate last weekend, the 2013 King of Gate bounced back with a title victory on 7/21 as he teamed with Naruki Doi to defeat Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk for the Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Titles. His recent success is still top notch as he has won 11 of 15 matches. That makes his recent win percentage=73.33%. An astronomical rate for any Gaijin working in Japan.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, Adam Thornstowe, Bobby Fish, Young Bucks, Pieces of Hate (as a team), reDRagon (as a team), The American Wolves (as a team), Brian Cage, and C&C Wrestle Factory (as a team)
Just missing out:
Roderick Strong-Roddy had some great success over the past week at NOAH as he went 3-1 with his lone loss coming in tag team action in the NTV G Cup Junior Heavyweight League. With a couple of wins this coming week, he is a lock for the IPR.
Arik Royal-The former IPR #1 and CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion has righted the ship as he picked up another victory over the weekend as he teamed with Donnie Dollars to defeat Jason Miller & Nick Richards at CWF Mid-Atlantic.
Team CK (Kage & Sean Carr)-The 2CW Tag Team Champions have now won 3 straight matches as a tag team and had 2 successful title defenses over the weekend. On 7/19 they defeated the very reputable AAW Tag Team Champions, The Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist). On 7/20 they beat Electric Dream Machine (Guerro Loco & Steve McKenzie) to retain the titles again.
Eddie Kingston-The CHIKARA Grand Champion (if he still in fact is champion) defeated Eric Corvis for Wrestling is Cool on 7/21 to continue his winning ways. Inactivity has hurt his chances at the Indy Power Rankings week after week.
Caleb Konley-Add Andrew Everett to the list of names the PWX Heavyweight Champion has turned away. On 7/20 he successfully defended his title, adding to recent victories over the likes of Davey Richards & Kevin Steen.
Amasis-The winner of 6 of 8 matches after the weekend’s victory over Chuck Taylor at Wrestling is Cool, Amasis now looks to possibly go after some tag team success as the Osirian Portal have reunited!
Joey Ryan-Well Joey Ryan certainly handled his TNA release quite well. He has now successfully defended his WPW Heavyweight title for 2 out of the last 3 weeks. This weekend’s defense was vs. Ray Rosas. He also secured the CWF Hollywood TV Title as well. The future is looking bright for Joey once again.
Chip Day- The EVO Super Hex and PWX Innovative TV Champion had another solid weekend as he retained the PWX iTV title vs. Corey Hollis on 7/20.
Zach Gowen-It was a big weekend for “The One Legged Wonder” as he ended Reed Bentley’s winning streak at IWA Mid-South “Simply the Best 9” as he teamed with Jimmy Jacobs to beat Bentley & Trik Davis. He followed that up with a victory at XICW on 7/21 vs. Chaz Montana.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of July 29th, 2013:
1. Johnny Gargano-The Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate Champion RETURNS to #1 in the Indy Power Rankings after a 3-0 weekend in New York. First, he defeated Rich Swann in a non-title match on 7/27. He then followed that up with two victories in one night over Dragon Gate star, Akira Tozawa, to successfully defend his title (both times). He’s got some big shows coming up in the next few weeks and looks to retain his #1 ranking into August.
2. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions, DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions, and IWL Tag Team Champions successfully defended their DGUSA titles on 7/28 vs. Rich Swann & Ricochet after winning the first ever Gate to Heaven match with Ricochet over AR Fox, CIMA, & Tomahawk TT on 7/27. The Bucks just missed out on returning to the #1 spot this week after a period of inactivity.
3. Tony Nese-What a weekend for Nese. He makes his very first entry into the Indy Power Rankings with a TREMENDOUS 4-0 week. On 7/25, at NYWC, he defeated Shane Strickland, then on 7/26 he teamed with Trent Barreta (as Matt Maverick & Plasma) to defeat the Beaver Boys heading into DGUSA weekend in NYC. He then defeated Akira Tozawa on 7/27 and wrapped up the weekend with a victory over Uhaa Nation on 7/28. A star may have just been made. Look out for him in PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles in August!
4. Drake Younger- The IWL Anarchy, SPW Xtreme & APW Worldwide Internet champion successfully defended his APW gold vs. Dylan Drake on 7/27 in a 21 minute classic. He wrestled for PWR on 7/28 and became the new #1 Contender to their Jr. Heavyweight Title by defeating Famous B, Persian Prince, Willie Mack, & El Ultimo Panda. Two weeks ago he was ranked #7 and after a week off, he has not just returned to the Indy Power Rankings, but escalated his ranking with a strong 2-0 weekend.
5. Cedric Alexander-Another weekend with a victory for Alexander as he teamed with his C&C Wrestle Factory partner, Caprice Coleman, to defeat #PartyBoys (Mike Sydal and Zizou Middoux) at the 7/27 ROH TV Tapings.
6. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)-The current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions became the NEW ROH World Tag Team Champions by becoming just the second team to beat reDRagon in straight up tag team competition. They’ve won 2 straight now with 5 out of 12 overall (thus, the reasoning for why they aren’t higher).
7. Jon Davis-The FIP Champion has now won 3 straight matches. This weekend he went 2-0 at DGUSA with wins over Chuck Taylor in a Bunkhouse Match on 7/27 and a win over CZW’s #1 Contender Drew Gulak on 7/28.
8. Eddie Kingston-The CHIKARA Grand Champion (if he’s still champ) won another big contest at AAW as he beat a man that was starting to build some momentum in Rhino. A little more activity and you could see him start to push for higher rankings in the near future.
9. Arik Royal-The CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion makes his return to the IPR as he teamed with the Killbillies to defeat Team Messina to win their match at NCWA on 7/27. That makes 3 straight after losing his first match this year (according to various databases & records) on June 28th.
10. Hype Gotti-“THE REALEST IN DA BIZ” made a guarantee and came through. He promised a MAGNUM PRO Title win along with an appearance in the Indy Power Rankings. His confidence paid off as he defeated Johnny Jackson on 7/26 at MWA, and then followed that up by defeating Jayden Draigo & Tony Cortez to become the NEW MAGNUM PRO Champion.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, Adam Thornstowe, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Isys Ephex, Team CK, & Brian Cage
Just missing out:
Karl Anderson-“The Machine Gun” has gone 16-5 (76.1% winning pct) overall since May, but he lost 2 straight in his last two New Japan appearances. He bounced back with a win at ROH vs. ACH at the 7/27 TV Tapings in the World Title Tournament. He has won 3 straight at ROH overall and looks to continue his winning ways in the U.S. One more win and he’s probably in!
Lennox Norris-The D1W Heavyweight Champion seems to do nothing but win lately. Another pair of wins this week for “The Bronze God” hammered home that point as he teamed defeated Jordan Kage at Evolution Pro on 7/25 and followed that up with a successful title defense at D1W vs. the legendary Tracy Smothers on 7/26. He is mere inches away from his first appearance in the IPR.
Willie Rood-The WCWF Champion is starting to pick up momentum again as he defended his title successfully vs. Oliver John recently. This weekend he teamed with Damien Grundy to defeat Nathan Brick & Dominic Simon
Anthony Stone-He looks to be on the rise as he has now won 2 straight. He defeated Jason Blade at Lucky Pro Wrestling on 7/26 after scoring a big upset for AR Fox at Beyond Wrestling last weekend.
Christian Rose-Though he falls out this week due to strong competition, he does deserve a mention as it was not a loss that knocked him out. He went to a No Contest and absolutely brutalized Marek Brave at AAW on 7/27, and quite possibly made himself a star in the process.
Reed Bentley-The former # 6 got back on track with a tag team victory over Kyle Maverick & Jay Bly at Evolution Pro Wrestling on 7/25.
Kevin Steen-The former #1 scored a huge victory as he teamed with Michael Elgin & Tommaso Ciampa to defeat the American Wolves & BJ Whitmer at the 7/27 ROH TV Taping.
Amasis-Though his team lost the 8 Man Tag Team CHIKARA tribute at DGUSA on 7/28 (he didn’t take the pinfall), he did beat last week’s #9 Green Ant at WIF! in a huge match on 7/27 to retain his Banana Title.
Jake Dirden-Won the Fist Combat Tournament on 7/26 as he defeated Poodoo the Cow in the First Round, Alexander Rudolph, David Vaughn, & Ricky Cruz in the Second Round in a 4 Way, and Billy McNeil in the Finals.
Papadon-After what appeared to be a week off, the ECWA Heavyweight Champion defeated Ryan Rush at NYWC on 7/25 to extend his winning streak to 3 straight.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of August 5th, 2013:
1. Christian Rose-Another undefeated weekend for Christian Rose gets him his first ever #1 Ranking. He’s looking unbeatable at this point as he defeated Travis Banks at AAW on 8/2 and followed that up with a HUGE victory vs. Former #1 Prince Mustafa Ali to become arguably the “Best in the Midwest” at DWW on 8/3. After the last few weeks, he is becoming a STAR with great performance after great performance. For those that have seen him compete, he is being compared to CM Punk on the indies at this stage.
2. Karl Anderson-“The Machine Gun” has gone 19-6 (76% winning pct) overall since May. He went 3-1 last week in the New Japan G1 Climax Tournament. After this tournament, he has a rematch set vs. Michael Elgin in the ROH World Title Tournament.
3. Papadon- Another win for the ECWA Heavyweight Champion over the weekend as he defeated Micah Taylor at Fan Fest on 8/3 in the Race for the Ring Tournament shoots him up to #3 this week. “The Greek God” is on a big time roll right now.
4. Adam Cole-The PWG World Champion finally returns to the Indy Power Rankings after a long absence. He advanced to the semi-finals of the ROH World Title Tournament as he defeated Jay Lethal on 8/3 and looks to add more gold to his trophy case in the near future.
5. Adrenaline Rush (ACH & TaDarius Thomas)-This tag team stumbled a bit for weeks at a time, but they have finally picked up a lot of momentum after 3 straight wins at ROH. This week they defeated last week’s #2 the Young Bucks & C&C Wrestle Factory in a 3 Way Dance at ROH’s All Star Extravaganza in Canada.
6. 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews)-The NEW NSPW Tag Team Champions in Canada went 2-0 on the weekend with that title win and a win vs. Jaka & Oleg The Usurper at Wrestling is Awesome on 8/4.
7. Benjamin Kimera-Making his first appearance in the Indy Power Rankings is the NEW Rockstar Pro Champion after defeating 5 other men (“The Shogun” Aaron Williams, OI4K’s Jake Crist,”Relentless” Ron Mathis, “The Teenage Model Sensation” Nate Wings, & “Darkstar” Matt Taylor) in the Rockstar Six Pack Challenge.
8. Davey Richards-One half of the American Wolves returns to the Indy Power Rankings this week. After a small setback (losing to Kickin’ & Stompin’ at NSPW on 8/2), Richards and his partner, Eddie Edwards, defeated last week’s #6 The Forever Hooligans to become 2 time ROH World Tag Team Champions. Richards followed that title win up with a singles victory vs. Michael Elgin on 8/4 at Fan Fest.
9. Matt Cage-Making his debut in the Indy Power Rankings this week is someone who has been on the rise for quite some time. He finally breaks through with a victory in a 4 Way at AAW on 8/2 vs. former # 6 Reed Bentley, Trik Davis, & Alex Castle and a singles victory vs. Jeff O’Shea at DWW on 8/3.
10. JT Dunn-After a breakout performance several weeks ago in a loss, Dunn defeated last week’s #1 Johnny Gargano in the “Beyond the Rematch” match at NEFW on 8/3. Look out for him as he continues to try to gain momentum to move up the Indy Power Rankings.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, Adam Thornstowe, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Isys Ephex, Team CK, Drake Younger, Hype Gotti, & Brian Cage
Just missing out:
Jack Thriller-The “Serial Thriller” continued his impressive winning streak with a win vs. Jun Hado at UPW “Franchised” on 8/3 via submission. A little more activity and you should be seeing his name in the top 10.
Roderick Strong-The Messiah of the Backbreaker returned from NOAH with a bang as he defeated ROH TV Champion Matt Taven in the ROH World Title Tournament. He moves on to Round 2 with the hopes of becoming a 2 time ROH World Champion.
Kevin Steen-The former ROH World Champion moved on in the ROH World Title Tournament with a victory over Brian Kendrick on 8/3, but we were unable to find his match result vs. Franky the Mobster at NSPW on 8/2.
Michael Elgin-A 1-1 weekend with a victory vs. Paul London and a loss to Davey Richards keeps Elgin out this week. Continued success in the ROH World Title Tournament and a win vs. Karl Anderson in the next round should get him into the Indy Power Rankings once again.
Jason Hades-The DWW Heavyweight Champion gets back against the wall and responds with a win every single time. This time, on 8/3, he defeated Lince Dorado in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls match to retain the title. That makes 3 of 5 for him. A HUGE title defense vs. Christian Rose may be on the horizon.
Tommaso Ciampa-“The Sicilian Psychopath” is back on the winning track as he defeated Silas Young to move on in the ROH World Title Tournament. Between this opportunity and his entry into PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles, Ciampa has several big chances to get back into the Indy Power Rankings.
Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke-The TRP Heavyweight Champion went 2-0 over the weekend at Wrestling is Awesome and looks to have righted the ship. One or two more wins and he’ll be back in the Indy Power Rankings once again.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of August 12th, 2013:
1. Michael Elgin-Unbreakable? Apparently so! The powerhouse from Canada ran wild this week as he first travelled to EPW in Clarksville, IN and defeated Simon Sezz on 8/8. He then flew out to Reseda for PWG’s Tenth Anniversary Show where he defeated EVOLVE & CZW Wired TV Champion AR Fox. He capped off the weekend by defeating Jeckles the Jester at APW in California. “Unbreakable” hits #1 for the very first time in the Indy Power Rankings.
2. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-The current PWG Tag Team Champions, DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions, and IWL Tag Team Champions successfully defended their PWG Tag Team Titles in a 3 Way Ladder match vs. The Inner City Machine Guns of Rich Swann & Ricochet and The Dojo Bros. of Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards. They are simply dominant on the West Coast. They then travelled to The Gathering of the Juggalos where…who knows what happened?
3. Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke-The TRP Heavyweight Champion busted through again this week. He went 2-0 with wins at CZW in a 6 Man Tag vs. Matt Tremont, Shane Strickland, & Greg Excellent. He then defeated AR Fox at Wrestling is Art to run his win streak to at least 4.
4. Benjamin Kimera-The Rockstar Pro Champion moves up to his highest ranking yet after defeating one half of the Irish Airborne, Jake Crist, at the 8/7 Amped in Dayton, OH.
5. Drew Gulak-The NEW CZW Champion makes the list for the first time after he defeated long standing champion MASADA on 8/10 and followed that up with another impressive victory at Wrestling is Art vs. Tommaso Ciampa on 8/11. An amazing weekend for a wrestler that proves that hard work pays off.
6. Luke Hawx-An indy veteran for quite some time, he makes his first appearance this week in the Indy Power Rankings by winning the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup for MCW. He defeated Lance Anoai to get to the finals where he outlasted the likes of Adam Cole, Drolix, Derek Frazier, Papadon, and Mike Mondo to take home the trophy and this week’s #6.
7. Davey Richards-Another weekend and another victory for one half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions as he defeated Gary Jay in a stiff wrestling encounter at St. Louis Anarchy on 8/9.
8. Adam Cole-The PWG World Champion retained his title in a 3 Way Guerrilla Warfare Match at PWG’s TEN. He went on to lose in the Finals of the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup the next night, but his HUGE victory at PWG keeps him in the top 10 this week.
9. Hype Gotti-After a week off, the Magnum Pro Champion went 2-0 for MWA with a victory in singles vs. Buck Albright and picked up a mixed tag team win. His highest ranking to date!
10. Jack Thriller-“The Serial Killer” cracks the top 10 for the first time after a victory in a 3 way at OCWA vs. Evan O’Leary & Roger Lanier to continue his impressive streak of wins.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Christian Rose, Jay Briscoe, Adam Thornstowe, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Isys Ephex, & Team CK
Just missing out:
Johnny Gargano-The former five time #1 and current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion gets back into the mix as he teamed with Chuck Taylor to defeat Paul London & Brian Kendrick at PWG’s TEN. Heavy competition this week is all that kept him out of the top 10…for now.
Trent Barreta-The NEW FIP Champion is getting some good momentum going heading into PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles as he defeated Jon Davis for the FIP title on 8/9.
Papadon-The ECWA Heavyweight Champion had a 1-1 weekend in the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup. He would have stuck around on most weeks, but this was a very competitive week. Expect to see “The Greek God” back sooner, rather than later.
Green Ant-Possibly the most well respected member of the Colony and the only member to ever be ranked in the Indy Power Rankings, has hit quite the roll again. A couple more victories in the upcoming weeks and he could be back in the Indy Power Rankings, looking to move to his highest rank yet.
The Osirian Portal-They reunited in straight up tag team competition and came up victorious vs. the CZW World Tag Team Champions BLK Out on 8/10. A few more wins and they’ll make their first appearance as a team in the Indy Power Rankings.
Brian Cage-“The F’N Machine” returned to PWG after an injury with a bang. He defeated former #3 in the Indy Power Rankings, Tony Nese, in impressive fashion. Look out for him in PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles.
JT Dunn-Despite a loss to David Starr in CZW, last week’s #10 teamed with Triplelicious to defeat Kris Pyro & Brandon Webb at PWF Northeast to get back on the winning track.
Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)-The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions went into PWG’s TEN and defeated a well-established West Coast tag team in the RockNES Monsters to inch closer to the Indy Power Rankings after their crushing ROH World Tag Team Title loss last week.
Flex Armstrong-The BTW Heavyweight Champion had a fantastic 3-0 weekend at Big Time Wrestling with wins over Vince Vega, Shane Douglas, & R.J. Brewer. A win at this Tuesday’s show could push him right into the Indy Power Rankings next week.
ACH-One half of Adrenaline Rush went 2-1 on the weekend with his only loss being to Davey Vega at St. Louis Anarchy. He responded with a win vs. Howard Moritz and by winning the NWA Central States title from Dan Walsh on 8/10 at KC Metro Pro Wrestling. With the momentum he has gathered, a couple of wins could get him in for the first time in singles competition.
Lennox Norris-The D1W Heavyweight Champion had another solid weekend, going 2-0 at EPW & PWF with wins over Shawn Northstar & John Noble to continue his impressive streak of wins.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of August 19th, 2013:
1. Michael Elgin-Another undefeated weekend puts “Unbreakable” at #1 for the second straight week. He scored a HUGE victory when he defeated Karl Anderson in the quarter finals of the ROH World Title Tournament on 8/17. He then followed that up at House of Glory Wrestling on 8/18 by defeating The Amazing Red to solidify his spot at #1 once again.
2. Adam Cole-The PWG World Champion travelled to Wrestling Cares and defeated OVW Heavyweight Champion Jamin Olivencia to move on in the Race for the Ring Tournament. He followed that up with a victory on 8/18 at House of Glory Wrestling vs. Anthony Gangone.
3. Benjamin Kimera-The Rockstar Pro Champion moves up yet again to his highest ranking yet after defeating Matt Brannigan, at the 8/14 Amped in Dayton, OH. That makes 3 straight victories for the champ.
4. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)-The NEW ROH tag team champions broke the 1-1 tie with the American Wolves by beating them in the main event of Manhattan Mayhem to become 2 time ROH World Tag Team Champions. They only have two losses in straight up tag team competition as they have gotten back on track once again.
5. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero)-The IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions capped off their ROH run with a big win over last week’s #2 The Young Bucks at Manhattan Mayhem to solidify their claim as being one of the best tag teams in the entire United States.
6. Matt Cage- Another great weekend for Cage as he successfully defended his Scott County Wrestling title in a 3 Way vs. Christian Rose and Shane Hollister on 8/16. He then picked up a tag team win the next night with Alex Castle vs. AC/DC at Wrestling is Intense. On 8/18 at Wrestling is Heart, he teamed again with Alex Castle to defeat Billy Roc & Dale Patricks, AC/DC, and the team of Chris Castle and Devin Bliss to run his record to 3-0 on the weekend.
7. Flex Armstrong-The BTW Heavyweight Champion was absolutely dominant over the last 2 weeks as he won 4 matches in 5 days. After three wins last week, he followed that up with an early week win on 8/13 as he defeated Judomaster Benny Juxx to again retain the title.
8. Cedric Alexander-Another big weekend for one half of the C&C Wrestle Factory as he defeated Johnny Gargano in an indy dream match at PWX on 8/16 and followed that up with a scramble rules tag team win over Adrenaline Rush at ROH on 8/17.
9. Jack Thriller-The Serial Killer moves up in the Indy Power Rankings with 2 more victories over the weekend as he defeated Brutus Dylan with his Figure Four leglock and then followed that up with a victory in a 3 way over Roger Lanier and Joe Risk with his Snapmare Driver.
10. Isys Ephex-The 2CW Heavyweight Champion makes another appearance in the Indy Power Rankings to continue his strong winning streak after defending his title successfully vs. Kevin Graham on 8/16 and Colin Delaney on 8/17.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, Adam Thornstowe, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Brian Cage, Ricochet, Uhaa Nation, BJ Whitmer, Osirian Portal, Hype Gotti
Just missing out:
Papadon-The ECWA Heavyweight Champion travelled out to the West Coast for Wrestling Cares and picked up a big win over Joey Ryan in the Race for the Ring Tournament. “The Greek God” is looking to get a much deserved spot in the Indy Power Rankings once again.
Blossom Twins (Hannah & Holly Blossom)-Winners of more than 4 straight as a team in OVW, they become the first female team to get a mention in the Indy Power Rankings. This British tag team has been on fire in OVW. They’re fine in singles, but when they team, they’ve been almost unbeatable. This week they defeated Lovely Lylah & Nikki St. John at the 8/14 OVW TV Tapings. Hoping for a TNA call up in the upcoming months.
Caleb Konley-Two big wins for the PWX Champion over the weekend brought him within inches of making this week’s Indy Power Rankings as he defeated Drew Myers & Chip Day to retain his title on back to back nights. Another win or two and he’s in!
JT Dunn-“The Juice” looks to re-enter the Indy Power Rankings soon as he defeated CZW Wired TV & EVOLVE Champion AR Fox at NEFW on 8/17. Look out for him as the weeks and months roll on.
Corey Hollis-He’s on a 3 match winning streak as he defeated Chip Day & Zane Riley in tag team action at PWX and then defeated Rich Swann the next night to go 2-0 on the weekend.
Johnny Gargano-A very busy 2-1 weekend gets the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion and five time former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings, another honorable mention this week as he defeated Drake Younger at Wrestling Cares and then followed that up with a 4 Way Victory over Mathieu St. Jacques, Player Uno, and John Greed at Smash Wrestling in Canada. His lone loss was to Cedric Alexander at PWX.
Trevor Lee-A 2-1 weekend earns him an honorable mention this week as he defeated 2 men in one night in Andrew Everett & Lee Valiant to win the 2013 Johnny Weaver Memorial Cup for CWF Mid-Atlantic. His only loss was at PWX on 8/16 vs. Shane Strickland.
Eddie Kingston-After some inactivity, the CHIKARA Grand Champion (?) made a surprise return to ROH along with Homicide to defeat the team of Marshall Law (RD Evans & QT Marshall) at Manhattan Mayhem on 8/17.
Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke-After losing in a 6 man tag team match at TRP on 8/16 in a match also involving Jimmy Snuka, last week’s #3 bounced back with a successful defense of his TRP Heavyweight Title vs. Vinny Marseglia the next night to go 1-1 on the weekend.
Anthony Nese-He gets back into the Indy Power Rankings conversation with a victory at House of Glory Wrestling vs. Marq Quen of True-Talent on 8/18. A win or two and he’s back in the Indy Power Rankings once again.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of August 26th, 2013:
1. Benjamin Kimera-The Rockstar Pro Champion claims his first #1 ranking after winning yet again, at the 8/21 Amped in Dayton, OH. He defeated Big Jim Hutchinson to continue his winning streak. That makes 4 straight victories/undefeated weeks for the champ along with a big surprise appearance at #1.
2. Eddie Kingston-The CHIKARA Grand Champion (maybe) wins two on the weekend as he travelled to AAW on August 23rd and defeated Silas Young in a main event grudge match. He followed that up with a victory over Frightmare at Wrestling is Cool on August 25th. “The War King” grabs his highest ranking in months and actually, literally, stole candy from a baby at Wrestling is Cool.
3. Ricky Reyes-“The Cuban Crippler” makes his first ever appearance in the Indy Power Rankings by winning the Eastern Pennsylvania Wrestling Entertainment Championship by beating 3 men in one night (EJ Risk, Kai Katana, & Will Ferrara) to win the tournament for the title. The next day, he said goodbye to CTWE by beating the repeat #1, Michael Elgin, to solidify his spot in this week’s rankings.
4. Michael Elgin-A bitter sweet week for Elgin as he gets what most would consider a very high ranking, but failed in his attempt to threepeat as #1. He defeated Knight Wagner at AAW on 8/23, and then followed that up with a victory in a 3 way over Alex Colon & Mat Fitchett that same night. He then went to CTWE and was upset by this week’s #3 Ricky Reyes to fall to 2-1 on the week. Has a chance to jump back into the #1 spot with a PWG Battle of Los Angeles Tournament victory this weekend.
5. Amasis-One half of the Osirian Portal gets into the Indy Power Rankings in singles by virtue of his successful Banana title defense at Wrestling is Fun vs. Oleg the Usurper. At Wrestling is Cool, he teamed with Ophidian to continue the Osirian Portal’s new found dominance vs. Mark Andrews & Pete Dunn from the UK. This is his highest ranking to date.
6. Luke Hawx-Hawx re-enters the Indy Power Rankings after some brief time off by defeating Matt Hardy on 8/24 in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls No DQ match for the WildKat Heavyweight Title. Returning to ROH for a double shot in a 2 weeks or so in a couple of big make or break matches.
7. Jack Thriller-“The Serial Killer” moves up yet again after a victory at Riot Pro vs. Justin Dillinger. In 2 weeks he’ll have a chance to shock the world at the IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational tournament as he takes on Christian York in the first round.
8. 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews)-The former CHIKARA and current NSPW tag champs continued their success as a team as they defeated Los Ice Creams at Wrestling is Fun on 8/24. This is their second time being ranked in the Indy Power Rankings and more than likely not their last.
9. Reed Bentley-As we’ve said before, you can call him “Cut Throat” or you can call him “By God”, but once again he is in the Indy Power Rankings. This week he defeated Jordan Kage in a rematch at Evolution Pro Wrestling on 8/22 (after low blowing one of our writers, who was doing the ring announcing that evening) and then scored another win over Mallaki Matthews at Dream Wave Wrestling on 8/23. He failed to defeat Christian Rose on 8/24 as both men hit the ref ending the match in a No Contest at DWW on 8/24. He is still undefeated in EPW and DWW.
10. Matt Knicks-BIG week for Knicks as he makes his debut in the Indy Power Rankings after a 4-1 weekend. On 8/23 he defended the DWW Tag Team Titles (with partner Tyler Priegel) successfully vs. The Beck Family. From there he travelled to Mondo Lucha in Milwaukee, WI where on 8/24 he defeated Justin Dredd. On 8/25 at Mondo Lucha he beat Ovirload and Chris Castro. His only blemish was on 8/24 vs. Ariya Daivari. He is without a doubt a rising star right now. Look out for him as he continues to push to move up the rankings.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
reDragon (as a team), Jay Briscoe, Adam Thornstowe, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Brian Cage, Young Bucks, Adam Cole, Forever Hooligans, Flex Armstrong, Isys Ephex, BJ Whitmer, Biff Busick, Davey Richards
Just missing out:
Flash Flanagan-The OVW TV Champion has been on quite the roll lately. This week, at the 8/21 OVW TV Taping, he defeated TNA star Rob Terry to retain his title. He looks to become the third OVW TV Champion to reach the #1 spot in the near future. He also picked up a title win at NFW over the weekend.
Christian Rose-Got back on the winning track with a victory over Chris Castro at DWW over the weekend. The former #1 then went to a No Contest with Reed Bentley on 8/24 at DWW when they both hit the ref.
Drew Gulak-The CZW Heavyweight Champion got back on the winning track and back in the Indy Power Rankings by defeating The Estonian ThunderFrog at Wrestling is Cool on 8/25.
Eddie Edwards-One half of the former #1 tag team in the Indy Power Rankings defeated a former 5 time #1 in Johnny Gargano at CTWE in an indy dream match. Rumor has it that a WWE try out this coming weekend could lead to a huge signing for “Die Hard.” Good luck to him!
ACH-The AAW Heritage Champion picked up a huge win over the weekend as he defeated Kyle O’Reilly to continue his title reign.
Matt Cage-A 1-1 weekend for last week’s #6 in the Indy Power Rankings didn’t get him in, but it was the controversial loss on 8/23 to Marshe Rockett that kept him in the mention category this week. He evened his weekend record with a win vs. J.J. Garrett at Dream Wave on 8/24.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 2nd, 2013:
1. Kyle O’Reilly-One half of reDRagon and the ROH World Tag Team Champions claims his first ever #1 in the Indy Power Rankings by virtue of winning PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles with 4 wins in 2 nights over some of the biggest stars in the sport, including: Trent?, ACH, Drake Younger, and Michael Elgin. It was a magical weekend for the wrestler who proves that hard work pays huge dividends. He now has a guaranteed shot vs. PWG World Champion Adam Cole.
2. Adam Cole-The PWG World Champion did not defend his title at the Battle of Los Angeles, instead opting to team with two of his new stable mates in the “Mount Rushmore of Wrestling” as he and the Young Bucks defeated The Forever Hooligans & TJ Perkins on Night 1. They capped off the weekend with another 6 person tag team victory over AR Fox, Candice LaRae, & Rich Swann on Night 2 before attacking and dismantling Kyle O’Reilly’s BOLA trophy at the end of the night.
3. Michael Elgin-The “Unbreakable” wrestler from the North came just short of winning the Battle of Los Angeles for a second straight year as he lost in the finals once again to one half of the former tag team of Future Shock. Kyle O’Reilly was the only man that could stop him this weekend as he defeated Rich Swann, Roderick Strong, and Gargano before losing in the finals. He also defeated B-Boy at IWL on Sunday September 1st.
4. Amasis-One half of the Osirian Portal jumps up a spot and extends his win streak with a victory over Los Ice Creams at WIF! on September 1st. The Banana titleholder has looked absolutely unstoppable as of late. Can his renewed partnership with Ophidian lead to a tag team title run in CZW?
5. Louis Lyndon-One half of the AAW Tag Team Champions added to his title collection over the weekend as he competed in a 6 Way Ladder Match to win the AIW Intense Title! His opponents were a who’s who of indy wrestling right now as he outlasted Andrew Everett, Flip Kendrick, Josh Alexander, Marion Fontaine, and Matt Cross to claim the gold. It appears (from our data base) that he has won around 6 straight in the U.S. as he is on a tear right now.
6. Marshe Rockett-The DREAMWAVE Alternative & CSW Heavyweight Champion ran his streak to at least 6 as he successfully defended the Alternative Title vs. the formerly undefeated (in DREAMWAVE) Reed “By God” Bentley on 8/30. His last KNOWN loss was in May of 2013. Absolutely amazing!
7. 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews)-The former CHIKARA and current NSPW tag champs retained their NSPW tag team titles with a victory over Kickin’ & Stompin’ (Razen & Ivan Sullivan) on August 31st. This tag team is on a hot streak right now, so look out for them to continue their rise up the Indy Power Rankings in the near future!
8. Matt Knicks-Last week’s #10 in the Indy Power Rankings moves up 2 spots with an undefeated weekend as he teamed with his partner, Tyler Priegel, to successfully defend the DREAMWAVE Tag Team Titles vs. Zero Gravity at Extreme Measures. He ended the weekend at Galli Lucha with a 6 Man Tag disqualification victory over Mason Conrad, Marcus Conrad and Barry Ryte while teaming with Joe Firoz and Jake Shining. He is a participant in the 6 Way Qualifier for IWA Mid-South’s TPI 2013, so look out for him to make some noise!
9. Ethan Page-The AIW Absolute Champion successfully defended his title at “Gleaming the Cube” in a 4 Way Match vs. Colin Delaney, Eric Ryan, and Michael Hutter. Not to rest on his laurels, he travelled out to California to team with Josh Alexander as they defeated the Young Bucks for the IWL Tag Team Titles live on IPPV.
10. Aaron Epic-One half of the RPW Tag Team Champions continued his success over the weekend with not 1, not 2, but 3 big victories at Beyond Wrestling’s studio tapings vs. Ophidian, Ryan Rush, and Angel Ortiz. That ran his record to 3-0 on the weekend…and it looks like he has now won at least 5 straight overall.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
reDragon (as a team), Jay Briscoe, Adam Thornstowe, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Flex Armstrong, Isys Ephex, BJ Whitmer, Biff Busick, Ricky Reyes
Just missing out:
Ophidian-The other half of the Osirian Portal has been doing his thing since reteaming with Amasis as they have racked up several impressive victories. This weekend they teamed to defeat Los Ice Creams at Wrestling is Fun!
Christian Rose-The Bitter Lunatic himself scored a huge victory over the weekend as he defeated Rhyno/Rhino at DREAMWAVE Wrestling in the pouring rain! He came just mere inches away from getting into the Indy Power Rankings this week.
Matt Cage-His victory at DREAMWAVE Wrestling over Waylon came very close to propelling him back into the Indy Power Rankings, but never fear, “Money” is not one to stay away very long. A couple of wins and you’ll be seeing him ranked again.
Drew Gulak-The CZW World Champion picked up a victory vs. Dan Barry at Beyond Wrestling’s studio tapings over the weekend. Look out for him to reappear in the Indy Power Rankings once again very soon.
Jack Thriller-The Serial Killer’s streak of dominance came to an end over the weekend, but it was still a very solid weekend overall. He did a TV taping for American Sky Dojo where he beat El Buro Loco and Roderick Street before finally losing to Nightmare. With the TPI coming up, he’s looking to jump back into the Indy Power Rankings in a big way.
The Young Bucks-The PWG World Tag Team Champions and DGUSA Open the United Gate Tag Team Champions went 2-0 at PWG with two big 6 Person Tag Team wins, but their lone loss was a title loss as they lost to The Monster Mafia (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) at IWL in California. No doubt they’ll look to fill the void in their trophy case soon.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 9th, 2013:
1. Kyle O’Reilly-The 2013 Battle of Los Angeles winner kept the momentum going as he went into ROH weekend in Tennessee and Alabama and once again came out unscathed. On Night 1, he defeated Cedric Alexander in singles competition. He followed that up the next night with a tag team win (w/reDRagon partner, Bobby Fish) over Adrenaline RUSH, C&C Wrestle Factory, and Alabama Attitude to avoid having to defend the ROH World Tag Team Titles. This marks his second straight week as #1 in the Indy Power Rankings.
2. Michael Elgin-Elgin is back into the mix with another strong weekend of action at ROH. In arguably the biggest match of the weekend, on 9/6, he teamed with Kevin Steen and defeated Tommaso Ciampa and last week’s #2 Adam Cole. The next day he defeated Raymond Rowe to run his weekend record to 2-0. He has his chance to become the new ROH World Champion on 9/20 at Death Before Dishonor.
3. Benjamin Kimera-Despite a great week, Kimera’s week of inactivity cost him a couple of spots this week.The Rockstar Pro Champion made his first successful title defense as he defeated Lil’ C at Rockstar Pro’s Amped on 9/4 and then followed that up with another successful title defense vs. “Black Jaws” Gerome Phillips. He was deserving of the #1 this week, but he didn’t quite get the votes this week. Kimera deserves a ton of praise for his success lately.
4. Matt Cage-The Proud Caucasian himself makes the Indy Power Rankings once again with a 3-0 weekend across the Midwest. First, he travelled to UWC Georgetown where he defeated Alex Castle in a Best 2 of 3 Falls Match. He then went to SIWE and teamed with Christian Rose to defeat Truk Thompson & Daniel Eads. He capped off the weekend by teaming with Prince Mustafa Ali at VWAA to defeat Gary Jay & Isaias Velazquez. The Scott County Wrestling Champion has been unstoppable as of late.
5. Marshe Rockett-The DREAMWAVE Alternative Champion moves up a spot in the Indy Power Rankings as he teamed with Acid Jaz to defeat Mad Man Pondo & “The Inspiration” Brady Pierce at Resistance Pro on 9/7.
6. Ron Mathis-“Relentless” is more than just a nickname for this Rockstar Pro regular. After a 3-0 weekend, highlighted by a victory over Tommy Dreamer at CZW’s “Déjà vu”, Mathis finally gets ranked in the Indy Power Rankings for the very first time.
7. Uhaa Nation-The Dragon Gate big man gets back into the Indy Power Rankings with a solid 2-0 weekend (4 straight and 6 of 8 overall) where he defeated Cyber Kong in singles competition and then followed that up with a 6 man tag team victory over Genki Horiguchi, Jimmy Susumu, and Jimmy Kagetora. “The One Man Nation” is looking to move towards the #1 for the very first time as he has been on fire since he has begun his new faction with Shingo & Akira Tozawa.
8. Drew Gulak-The CZW World Champion re-enters the Indy Power Rankings with a big title defense vs. AAW Heavyweight Champion Shane Hollister in Dayton, OH on 9/7. Gulak has been unbeatable lately. Can the CZW World Champ continue his dominance?
9. Aaron Epic-One half of the RPW Tag Team Champions continued his roll over the weekend as he defeated Bandido, Jr. at Wrestlejam in Connecticut. He moves up one spot heading into Beyond Wrestling’s “Point of No Return” on 9/15. Can he continue his success?
10. “Mr. Elite” Drew Myers-What a weekend for Drew Myers at PWX. First, on 9/6 at “Funny Draws Money”, he defeated Chip Day for the PWX iTV title. He then defended that very title at PWX’s “Us VS. The World” vs. Steven Walters and once again emerged victorious. This is his very first time ranked in the Indy Power Rankings!
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Flex Armstrong, BJ Whitmer. 3.0, Johnny Gargano, The Young Bucks, American Wolves (as a team), The Osirian Portal (as a team), Amasis
Just missing out:
Drake Younger-The APW Worldwide Internet Champion ALMOST gets into the Indy Power Rankings with a gruelling title defense vs. Dylan Drake on 9/7 in an all-out war. After getting to the semi-finals before falling in the Battle of Los Angeles last week, the “Ultraviolent Golden Boy” has refocused his efforts. Can he move up to his very first #1 in the Indy Power Rankings?
Papadon-“The Greek God” had yet another successful title at ECWA’s Anniversary show on 9/7. He defeated VSK, Ricky Reyes, and Apollyon in a huge match. He’s inching his way closer to the Indy Power Rankings once again.
Brian Cage-The F’N Machine came so very close to making it into the Indy Power Rankings this week as he became the NEW Fighting Spirit Pro Champion by virtue of his wins over Bobby Hart & Damien Grundy to put him at 2-0 for the weekend.
Kevin Steen-The formation of The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling in PWG last week was one of the biggest stories in all of wrestling. This week, he teamed with Michael Elgin to defeat Adam Cole & Tommaso Ciampa in one of the weekend’s most important matches. He then picked up a singles win over QT Marshall the next night at ROH to get some strong momentum going into the ROH World Title semi-finals (and possibly the finals) on 9/20.
Colt Cabana-A 2-0 weekend at PWX for “Boom Boom” vs. Zane Riley and Joey Ryan very nearly get him into the Indy Power Rankings this week. A win or two more and he’ll be back in the Indy Power Rankings once again.
Matt Knicks-Last week’s #8 just misses out this week with a solid 2-1 weekend. He picked up a big win at GALLI Lucha, another win at Resistance Pro (teaming with X-Pac!), but finally fell in a 3 way tag team match vs. Joe Firoz & The Estonian Thunderfrog and Mark Andrews & Pete Dunne where he did not take the pin. Look for him to return to the Indy Power Rankings in the near future if he can bounce back from his rare defeat on 9/8.
Justin Credible-The former ECW World Champion gets his very first mention in the Indy Power Rankings as he defeated Shane Marvel in an Extreme Rules match at IWE in Maine and then followed that up by winning the IWE Title vs. Tommy Mack on 9/7. And that’s not just the coolest. That’s not just the best. That’s Justin Credible!
Adam Cole-The PWG World Champion misses out by a hair after losing in the big tag team main event at Ring of Honor on 9/6 vs. Michael Elgin & Kevin Steen. He did bounce back with a “strong” (pun very much intended) win vs. Roderick Strong in the Ringmaster challenge on 9/7. Still has a very good chance of reaching the elusive number 1 with an ROH World Title win on 9/20.
Reed “By God” Bentley-Bentley got back on the winning track this week by defeating Rickey Shane Page in the VWAA Title Tournament. Could he outlast the field and win his first major title to shoot right back into the Indy Power Rankings?
Mikey Webb-What a great weekend for Mikey Webb! He teamed with his partner, Nick Fahrenheit, to successfully defend the NECW Tag Team Titles vs. Da House Party on 9/6. He then went to Chaotic Wrestling on 9/7 and retained the New England title vs. Chester Furnacola. He’s been in the Indy Power Rankings before, so now the question looms, can he get in again?
Eric Ryan-Good weekend for Eric Ryan as he teamed with Dustin Rayz at CZW in Dayton, OH to defeat Aeroform (last week’s #5 Louis Lyndon & Flip Kendrick). He completed the weekend with a victory in the VWAA Title Tournament over Bolt Brady and Ricky Starks.
Bobby Fish-After some back and forth weeks recently, one half of reDRagon polished off a 2-0 weekend for ROH in Tennessee and Alabama. First he defeated Caprice Coleman in singles competition. The next night he teamed with his partner, the current #1 Kyle O’Reilly, to defeat C&C Wrestle Factory, Alabama Attitude, & Adrenaline RUSH.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 16th, 2013:
1. ‘Money’ Matt Cage-The SCW Heavyweight Champion grabs his first #1 in the Indy Power Rankings by virtue of his win over Austin Roberts at DREAMWAVE and then the follow up win in the “Good as Gold” Royal Rumble style battle royal. He polished off the weekend with a tag team victory over the Beautiful Bodies at Wrestling is Intense on 9/15. His 3-0 week impressed voters to the point that they validated his “Money” moniker with a very deserving #1 ranking.
2. Uhaa Nation-The One Man Nation returns to the #2 spot after a very long hiatus. A STAGGERING 5-0-1 gets the big man to mere inches (and just one vote) away from the #1 spot. This is the one elusive accomplishment in the Indy Power Rankings that he has yet to achieve. This week’s results are best laid out as follows:
9/11 Win vs. YAMATO, BxB Hulk, & Cyber Kong in 6 Man tag action
9/12 Win vs. Ryotsu Shimizu in singles
9/13 Win vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, & Ken’ichiro Arai in 6 Man tag action
9/14 Win vs. YAMATO, Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk & Mondai Ryu in 8 man tag action
9/15 Win vs. Genki Horiguchi, Ryo Saito, & Jimmy Susumu
9/16 Time Limit Draw vs. Tomahawk TT & Eita
3. Benjamin Kimera-The Rockstar Pro Champion (and former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings) holds steady at #3 after two big wins this week. First on 9/11 at Rockstar Pro “Amped” he defeated Ganger. He capped off the week with another victory at The Kenny Gasaway Memorial Show vs. Malachai.
4. Michael Elgin-Elgin was still “Unbreakable” over the weekend with a win vs. JT Dunn at Beyond Wrestling, but his one big win wasn’t quite enough to keep him in the IPR Top 3 despite some strong support. The former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings has his biggest weekend to date. Can he become the ROH World Champion on 9/20 and possibly guarantee himself a #1 in next week’s Indy Power Rankings?
5. Isys Ephex-The 2CW Heavyweight Champion is absolutely unstoppable in his home promotion right now. When it comes to “quality wins”, he had one of the strongest weekends that anyone has had since possibly the Battle of Los Angeles. On 9/13 he retained his title in a hard fought battle vs. Johnny Gargano. He then defeated a mega star in Matt Hardy on 9/14 to once again retain the gold. Strong competition kept him from an even higher ranking this week, but his success is inarguable right now.
6. Drew Gulak-A very solid 2-0 weekend jumps the CZW Heavyweight Champion two spots to #6 this week. On any other week he may have been even higher with the strength of his victories, but for now, he gets the #6 after defeating Chris Dickinson to retain the CZW Title on 9/14. Perhaps an even bigger win this weekend was his victory while teaming with Biff Busick vs. Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong at Beyond Wrestling on 9/15.
7. Biff Busick-After some recent struggles and a bit of inactivity, Busick comes back with a vengeance this week. A 3-0 weekend gets him into the Indy Power Rankings with wins over Steve Ricard on 9/13 at TRP, Dave & Jake Crist in tag team action on 9/14 at CZW, and Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong in tag team competition on 9/15 at Beyond Wrestling. The former TRP Heavyweight Champion has come back searching for the elusive #1 spot that he has yet to attain.
8. Ricochet-This was just another solid week for the 2013 King of Gate in Dragon Gate in Japan. His week looked like this:
9/11 Win vs. Masaaki Mochizuki/Jimmy Kagetora in a 3 Way
9/12 Win vs. Yosuke Watanabe
9/13 No Contest vs. Tomahawk TT & Eita in tag team competition
9/14 DQ Win vs. Naruki Doi
9/14 Win vs. YAMATO, Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk, & Mondai Ryu in an 8 Man Tag
9/15 Loss vs. Tomahawk TT & Eita in tag team competition
9/16 Win vs. Don Fujii & Yosuke Watanabe in tag team competition
Overall it was a 5-1-1 week for the former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings.
9. Eddie Kingston-After a recent loss to DH Smith at Wrestlejam, “The War King” bounced back this weekend with 2 wins at Wrestling is Heart and Wrestling is Intense. He defeated Mat Fitchett at WIH on 9/14 and Jeff O’Shea at WII on 9/15 before completely ditching the company. The first, only, and last(?) CHIKARA Grand Champion is on a tear in the Wrestling is promotions.
10. Team CK (Sean Carr & Kage)-The 2CW Tag Team Champions make another appearance in the Indy Power Rankings after a very successful 2-0 weekend where they retained vs. Electric Dream Machine on 9/13 and then followed that up with another victory vs. Electric Dream Machine and Eric M Timmins & Peter D. Order on 9/14 to once again retain the titles. This tag team has been absolutely unbeatable in 2CW since they claimed the gold.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, Pieces of Hate (as a team), Flex Armstrong, BJ Whitmer. 3.0, Kyle O’Reilly, reDRagon (as a team), The Young Bucks, American Wolves (as a team)
Just missing out:
Matt Knicks-One half of the DREAMWAVE Wrestling Tag Team Champions moves one step closer to getting back into the Indy Power Rankings with another tag team title defense on 9/14 vs. The Beck Family. He has won 8 of 11 matches overall to bring his recent win percentage to over 72%. Not easy to do when you’re as active as he is in the Midwest right now.
Kevin Steen-The former ROH World Champion and 5 time #1 in the Indy Power Rankings once again just misses out due to a loss to Matt Hardy at 2CW on 9/13. He rebounded with a victory vs. Eddie Edwards on 9/14 at 2CW, and then another win vs. Chris Dickinson at Beyond Wrestling on 9/15. If Steen can somehow become a 2 time ROH World Champion on 9/20, he will MAKE SURE he’s in the Indy Power Rankings once again next week.
Ricky Reyes-The EPWE Underground Champion got back on the winning track after a narrow loss to the ECWA Heavyweight Champion in a 4 Way last week. THIS WEEK he closes back in on the Indy Power Rankings with a big victory vs. Tommaso Ciampa at ICW on 9/14. He also ran in on Bandido Jr. at Jersey Championship Wrestling on 9/13 stating he was representing a group called “The Black Hand”, but had no official match that night.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 23rd, 2013:
1. Drew Gulak-After a VERY close voting period, CZW World Champion claims his first ever #1 ranking by virtue of his EVOLVE Style Battle victories. On 9/21 he won a 4 Way Elimination match as he defeated Lince Dorado and Mark Angelosetti and Shane Strickland. In the process, he eliminated Lince Dorado and Mark Angelosetti. The following night, on 9/22, he defeated last week’s #7 in the Indy Power Rankings, Biff Busick to win the Style Battle. He has been absolutely UNSTOPPABLE as of late!
2. Adam Cole-“The Panama City Playboy” is the king of the wrestling world, no doubt about it. He was already the PWG World Champion, but as he is never one to rest on his laurels, he went after the ROH World Title as well. On 9/20, at Death Before Dishonor XI, he beat Tommaso Ciampa and then Michael Elgin to become the NEW ROH World Champion! While his accomplishments certainly could validate a #1 ranking, it once again eludes him this week as he did not wrestle at the 9/21 ROH TV Taping, which had a serious bearing on his ranking by the voters. That combined with some of his recent activity kept him from the #1 ranking, but judging by his accomplishments, he’ll be there for the first time very shortly.
3. ‘Money’ Matt Cage-The SCW Heavyweight Champion successfully defended his title vs. Nevin Knoxville in an open challenge on 9/21. Cage remains relevant as he continues his winning ways and keeps his impressive winning streak alive. While he didn’t quite have the votes to repeat as #1 in the Indy Power Rankings, he hasn’t been knocked down due to any recent losses. His time at #1 may come again shortly!
4. Benjamin Kimera-The Rockstar Pro Champion drops one spot due to no fault of his own. While he did beat Lil’ C in a non-title match on 9/18, the voters felt that he didn’t quite do enough to remain in the top 3 with the stiff competition this week. There’s no doubt that the former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings will simply use this “slight” as added motivation in the upcoming weeks so he can get back to HIS #1 spot.
5. Eddie Kingston-Another weekend and another victory for “The War King” as he teamed with his Outlaw, Inc. partner, Homicide to once again defeat Marshall Law at the 9/21 ROH TV Tapings. They have put the ROH World Tag Team Champions, reDRagon, on notice of their intentions to become the next champions. He has a battle vs. Jimmy Jacobs at AAW on 9/27 to look forward to first.
6. Uhaa Nation-A 2-1 (2-2 if you count the Battle Royal) week at Dragon Gate for the big man wasn’t enough to bump him out of the top 10. He has now gone 7-1-1 over the last two weeks (along with a loss in the Battle Royal). A very impressive mark for “The One Man Nation”. He still has that question mark as to whether he can ascend to the number one spot looming over his head. Could next week be that week? He has some work to do to get there.
7. Bravado Brothers (Lancelot & Harlem Bravado)-The FIP Tag Team Champions make Grandma Bravado proud as they return to the Indy Power Rankings for the second time after winning the Young Bucks Invitational at EVOLVE over the weekend. First, they defeated the (last) CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas, the Pieces of Hate (Jigsaw & The Shard) on 9/21. They capped off the weekend with a victory in a 4 Way Tag vs. The Gentleman’s Club, Dos Ben Dejos, & The Pieces of Hate on 9/22.
8. AR Fox-After a VERY long hiatus and a string of losses, “The Whole Foxin show” returns to the Indy Power Rankings. The EVOLVE Champion successfully defended his title vs. Tony Nese on 9/21. He then defeated last week’s #8 in the Indy Power Rankings in an “Evolution’s End” match as he knocked off fellow high-flyer, Ricochet in what was described as an absolutely insane bout. Could the former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings continue to build on his success?
9. Alex Castle-One half of the Daywalkers has been on our radar for quite some time. This week he finally broke through and got himself ranked. After a string of successful weekends, he gets the votes he needs as he went 2-0 at IWA Unlimited on 9/18 and 9/22. On 9/18 he knocked off Brandon Espinosa and then on 9/22 he defeated Scott Parker. Hell of a week for Castle.
10. Justice Jones-This Midwest based independent wrestler took the world by storm this week as he made his very first appearance in the Indy Power Rankings after 2 victories this weekend. First, he knocked off Machine at JWA before following that up with a big win over Marshe Rockett (formerly ranked in the Indy Power Rankings) on 9/22 for SSW in Wisconsin. Look out for him as he makes his push to get ranked for the very first time.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Jay Briscoe, Isys Ephex, Team CK, Young Bucks (as a team)
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Shane Hollister-The AAW Heavyweight Champion seems to have righted the ship as he defeated the former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings in Christian Rose. The match was described as a match of the year candidate by those in attendance at Scott Coutny Wrestling on 9/21.
Trent ?-A 2-1 weekend by the former WWE star got him some votes this week. EVOLVE got 3 matches out of him in 2 nights as he teamed with Johnny Gargano in a losing effort on 9/21 vs. Rich Swann & Ricochet, but got back on the right track with wins over Caleb Konley and Maxwell Chicago on 9/22. A little more consistency and the FIP Champ could make his return to the Indy Power Rankings.
Ricochet-The high-flying former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings (last week’s #8) barely falls out after a 1-1 weekend where he teamed with Rich Swann to defeat Johnny Gargano and Trent ?. He would ultimately lose to AR Fox in the Evolution’s End match the next evening to knock him out of the Indy
Power Rankings for this week.
reDRagon-While Kyle O’Reilly is a former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings and Bobby Fish has been highly ranked before, this just wasn’t their weekend and the voting bore that out. Yes, they did retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles vs. Forever Hooligans and C&C Wrestle Factory on 9/21, but that just wasn’t quite enough. Their loss in the 8 man tag team match vs. C&C Wrestle Factory and Adrenaline RUSH on 9/20 was a backbreaker this week. The ROH World Tag Team Champions still have the gold and we’d expect to see them back any time.
Roderick Strong-It has been far too long since the Indy Power Rankings have been taken to “Camp Strong”. That almost changed this week when Roderick Strong crushed the competition in route to a 2-0 weekend at ROH. On 9/20, with the world watching, he knocked off Ricky Marvin in a classic contest. He followed that up with a victory over Mike Mondo at the ROH TV Tapings to finally return. Could he build on this weekend and return to the top 10? We’ll see!
Michael Elgin-Another tournament and another disappointment for the former Canadian Crazy Horse. While it’s certainly no easy task to make it to the finals of a prestigious independent wrestling tournament, Elgin has had the poor luck of losing in the finals of back to back BOLAs and now this. He defeated Kevin Steen to move on to the finals of the ROH World Title Tournament on 9/20, but ultimately fell to the new champion, Adam Cole. The former #1 is now at a crossroads. Can he get back to his rightful place near the top of the Indy Power Rankings?
Forever Hooligans-The IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions were able to knock off the hugely successful American Wolves on 9/20 to retain their titles at one of ROH’s biggest shows of the year. Unfortunately on 9/21, they were not able to add to their title collection as they were defeated by the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions, reDRagon in a 3 way match also involving C&C Wrestle Factory. With them returning to Japan and various promotions in the UK, could they make another push in the Indy Power Rankings?
Anthony Nese-A loss in the EVOLVE title match vs. AR Fox on 9/21 did not detour him, as he took on Josh Alexander on 9/22. Nese got his win back and even got a couple of votes from the victory as well. Could Nese return to the Indy Power Rankings? If he can string together a few wins, there’s no doubt he’ll be back!
Biff Busick-“The Manliest Man” aka Frank O’Rourke, made it to the finals of the EVOLVE Style Battle only to come up just short after an epic match with our current #1, Drew Gulak. He was not without support this week, however, as he gained some votes from last week’s ranking and his win in the 4 way on 9/20 vs. Maxwell Chicago, Josh Alexander, and Green Ant where he eliminated 2/3’s of the other wrestlers involved (Chicago & Alexander).
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 30th, 2013:
1. Adam Cole-The ROH & PWG World Champion FINALLY reaches the #1 spot in the Indy Power Rankings. What a long journey for the 24 year old Champion. He cemented his place at #1 this week as he defeated Mark Briscoe at ROH in Minnesota on 9/28 to retain his ROH World Title. Now that he has hit #1, the question looms, how long can he retain 2 World Titles AND the top spot in the Indy Power Rankings?
2. Benjamin Kimera-The Rockstar Pro Champion moves up 2 spots once again. He does nothing but win. What more can anyone ask for? This week he knocked off Aaron Williams by submission on 9/25 at Rockstar Pro’s “Amped.” Now that he is moving up again, can he shock the world again and become #1 in the Indy Power Rankings for the second time? This is the week to do it.
3. Eddie Kingston- Yet another weekend and another victory for “The War King” as he travelled to AAW where he defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a match that had only happened one time previously. Kingston is looking to carry this momentum to his first ever #1 Ranking. He’ll have his chances in the near future.
4. Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke-“The Manliest Man” made his way back into the Indy Power Rankings with 3 wins this week. First, he defeated Robbie Araujo at Beyond Wrestling on 9/26. He then moved on to TRP on 9/27 where he defeated Antonio “The Promise” Thomas. After a night off on 9/28, he went to Wrestling Is Respect on 9/29 where he knocked off Fire Ant. 3 wins 0 losses and he’s back in competition for the #1 spot…a spot by the way that he has not yet reached to date.
5. Michael Elgin-The former AAW Heavyweight Champion cruises back into the Indy Power Rankings in a big way after an “Unbreakable” weekend. On 9/27 he defeated Keith Walker in a battle of the powerhouses. From there, he went to ROH in Minnesota and teamed with Jay Lethal to defeat Adrenaline RUSH (ACH & TaDarius Thomas). It’s been over a month since Elgin was at the top of the Indy Power Rankings mountain. Can he get there once again?
6. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)-When it comes to straight up tag team competition, reDRagon are nearly unbeatable. After retaining their ROH World Tag Team titles last week vs. C&C Wrestle Factory & Forever Hooligans, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish had a difficult challenge ahead of them vs. a team that was on an insane roll…that being Monster Mafia of Ethan Page & Josh Alexander. Despite their best efforts, Monster Mafia were unable to defeat the champs. They have still only lost to two teams since forming their team (Forever Hooligans & American Wolves). Remarkable.
7. Uhaa Nation-“The One Man Nation” was back at it again this week as he went 3-1 at Dragon Gate in Japan. He ran his record to 10-2-1 over the last 3 weeks with his lone loss this week coming in a 6 Man Tag Team Match to CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki, and Gamma on 9/29. Despite the one loss, due to his recent record, he only drops one spot from where he was last week. Uhaa is still searching for that elusive #1 ranking.
8. Drew Gulak-The CZW World Champion took his championship to the United Kingdom where he successfully defended his title vs. MK McKinnan on 9/28 at Southside Wrestling. Like many imports to the UK, however, he was then defeated by The Wonder Whizz Kids (Jonny Storm, Lance Lawrence, Joel Martinengo) while teaming with DJ Hyde and Tommy End at IPW: UK. It should be noted that Gulak did not take the pin. He falls only 7 spots despite the loss.
9. Candice LeRae-4 Wins in one night skyrocket Candice LeRae into the Indy Power Rankings for the very first time! She becomes just the 5th Woman to reach this list. On 9/28, she defeated Hector Canales, Carla Jade, Katarina Leigh, and Mariah Moreno to win the 3rd Annual AWS Women’s Tournament. Absolutely amazing night for this gorgeous talent!
10. Isys Ephex-The 2CW Heavyweight Champion was a victim this week of one week off and perhaps a lower profile title match. While he did defeat J. Freddie at TRP to retain his 2CW Title on 9/27, it wasn’t a greatly hyped match, thus he gets ranked, but not as highly as he might deserve. He has won at least 6 straight. Look out for him in November as 2CW returns with another IPPV.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Matt Cage, Jay Briscoe, Team CK, Young Bucks (as a team)
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Amasis-After a week off to nurse some injuries, the WIF! Banana Champ was unblemished on the weekend as he defeated former TNA Star Sonjay Dutt at OnPoint Wrestling on 9/28 in a classic match. He then went to Wrestling is Respect on 9/29 where he teamed with his Osirian Portal partner, Ophidian, to defeat The Colony Xtreme Force (Arctic Rescue Ant & deviANT). He has won 6 of 7 overall. Amasis was just a vote or two away from entry in the Indy Power Rankings, but look out for him in the near future if he can keep this momentum going!
Estonian Thunder Frog-“Estonian #1 Wrestler. Estonian #1 Actor. Estonian #1 Strongman Comes from the Gods by way of Estonia”…and now he’s inches away from the Indy Power Rankings. He recently proclaimed that he’s #1 in Estonia and plans to be #1 in the U.S. Indy Power Rankings soon. He’s getting closer after 3 straight wins, one of which was a victory over Delirious at Wrestling is Respect on 9/29. Keep an eye out as he attempts to play Frogger all the way to a spot in the Indy Power Rankings.
Shane Hollister-One up and one down for “The Shug” as he once again successfully defended his AAW Heavyweight Title. He retained vs. Arik Cannon on 9/27. They now have a rematch looming in October, but for now, it is Hollister’s championship to cherish.
Matt Taven-The ROH World TV Champion is back in the hunt for the Indy Power Rankings again as he teamed with Kasey Ray and defeated “The Golden Greek” Alex Arion & Veda Scott on 9/27 at Chaotic Wrestling. He followed that up with a successful ROH TV Title defense vs. Roderick Strong & Davey Richards on 9/28. That makes 3 straight for the Truth Martini managed star!
Elijah Burke-Since returning to Ohio Valley Wrestling, no one has had an answer as to how to beat the former “Pope”. 3 straight wins and an OVW TV Title win and Elijah Burke is closing in on the Indy Power Rankings. This week he retained the OVW TV Championship vs. Raul LaMott on 9/25.
Rob Conway-The NWA World Champion took his title overseas in a historic defense vs. Jushin ‘Thunder Liger at New Japan on 9/29 and came out victorious. His run as NWA Champion has been nothing less than impressive.
Jamin Olivencia-The OVW Heavyweight Champion went out to his hometown in New York for a Champion vs. Champion match at ESW on 9/28. He emerged with a win as he defeated the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano in a non-title match. Look out for him as he is starting to get more consistent week in and week out.
Prince Mustafa Ali-The former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings took his talents to AAW where he defeated Knight Wagner in the opener of “Defining Moment” on 9/27. He is closing in on a return to the Indy Power Rankings, but he’ll need to pick up some big victories in the near future.
Rain-While she may not be quite as active in the ring as her male counterparts week in and week out, when she is, she is DOMINANT. This week she successfully defended her SHINE title at SHINE 13 vs. former TNA star Angelina Love. From our records, that’s 6 straight wins for the Champ.
Mikey Webb-Another 2-0 weekend for the multi-champion gets him some votes this week. First he pinned Tomahawk to retain the CW New England Championship in a Four-Way Match that also included Slyck Wagner Brown and Tony Omegaon 9/27 and then he won a 6 Man Tag Team Match with Nick Fahrenheit and Brad Hollister as they defeated former Champions “The Sure Thing” Mark Shurman, “Superstar” Scotty Slade and their tag team partner, “The Monster” Apocalypse.
Scot Summers-After his big win vs. Chris Dickinson in a battle of the crazies on 9/28, one half of The Kingz of the Underground gets several votes from the OnPoint Wrestling supporters. He’s on the right path right now!
Matt Tremont-“The Bulldozer” bulldozed right over Jaka in the opener at OnPoint Wrestling on 9/28. He has a HUGE match with Joe Gacy coming up at CZW in his quest to be ranked in the Indy Power Rankings for the very first time.
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of October 7th, 2013:
1. Benjamin Kimera-3 up and 3 down for the Rockstar Pro Champion. He got a lot of Midwest love this week for his victories over Dustin Thomas on 10/2, Jock Samson on 10/4, and his 6 man win at W.A.R. on 10/5 vs. Jock Samson, Cousin Samson, & Cody Hawk. Though Jock Samson physically stole his title, he remains the champion and once again ascends to the #1 ranking after months without a blemish on his record.
2. Adam Cole-The ROH & PWG World Champion couldn’t hang on to the top spot for more than a week, but he does get the #2 this week. In another tight voting week, Cole came up short. His victory over Roderick Strong, while big, wasn’t quite enough to get him the votes. Can Cole prove himself once again by turning back the challenge of Kyle O’Reilly on 10/19?
3. Eddie Kingston-“The War King” did what he does best this week and that’s win. He went into ROH on 10/5 expecting to take on Monster Mafia with his partner Homicide, but due to border issues, he was thrust into a match with BLK Out. Despite the change of plans, Outlaw Inc. came out on top and Kingston stayed right where he was at #3 in the Indy Power Rankings.
4. reDRagon-Another week and another successful title defense for the ROH World Tag Team Champions. This week they turned back the challenge of Michael Elgin & Jay Lethal to retain the gold. They have still only lost to two teams since becoming a tag team (American Wolves & Forever Hooligans). With both teams not actively teaming, who can stop the champs?
5. Shane Hollister-The AAW Heavyweight Champion makes his much deserved and long awaited return to the Indy Power Rankings with 2 wins this weekend. First, he knocked off 5 other men in a 6 Way Match at St. Louis Anarchy on 10/4 (Christian Rose, Matt Knicks, Travis Banks, Pete Dunne, & Evan Gelistico) and then he followed that up with a victory over Lince Dorado at DREAMWAVE Wrestling on 10/5. “The Shug” has been absolutely dominating the Midwest as of late.
6. Scott Parker-Though his celebration was short lived, it cannot erase the 3 victories in one weekend at Wrestling is Awesome for one half of 3.0. On 10/5 he defeated Juan Francisco de Coronado, then on 10/6 he beat Max Smashmaster, and finally he shocked the world by defeating Francis O’Rourke (Biff Busick) in the finals to crown the champion of Wrestling is Awesome. Unfortunately, it appears he will never get a chance to defend his title as the company was promptly shut down after the match.
7. Matt Taven-The ROH TV Champion returns to the Indy Power Rankings this week after a successful title defense vs. Cedric Alexander on 10/5. After a brief slump with a period of back and forth weeks, he finally establishes himself with a string of victories and gets the votes he needs. Can he continue his success going forward?
8. Marshe Rockett-After a 3-0 weekend last week, Marshe Rockett jumps back into the Indy Power Rankings with a successful defense of his DWW Alternative Title vs. Arik Cannon on 10/5. He just simply wins.
9. Matt Tremont-“The Bulldozer” makes his first official Indy Power Rankings appearance as he defeated Drew Blood at CZW on 10/4. He has been on a strong win streak lately heading into his big match with Joe Gacy this weekend. Can he continue to win and increase his momentum heading into a potential CZW World Title Match (down the line)?
10. Jamin Olivencia-The OVW Champion finally put together the type of consistent weeks of wins that got him enough votes to get into the Indy Power Rankings. This week he had a very big victory as it was OVW career vs. career in his title defense vs. James Thomas on 10/5. Luckily for him, he came out on top. With some more wins, look out for him to start moving up the Indy Power Rankings ladder.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Isys Ephex, Uhaa Nation, Candice LeRae, Jay Briscoe, Team CK, Young Bucks (as a team)
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Drew Gulak
Mark Shurman & Scotty Slade
Mark Shurman (in singles)
Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke
Zane Dawson
Christian Rose
Allysin Kay
Kimber Lee
Davey Richards
Kevin Steen
Mike Bennett
Prince Mustafa Ali
Michael Elgin
Helter Skelter (Markus Crane & Alex Castle)
Gary Jay/Gerald James
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of October 14th, 2013:
1. Adam Cole-Is there really another legitimate choice for #1 this week? Cole has not lost since early September and with his status as both ROH and PWG World Champion, it seems clear that he is “The Best in the World” right now. He meets all the major criteria to be the #1 and this week he took his show on the road to California and Wrestling Cares where he defeated Pepper Parks to advance in the Race for the Ring Tournament.
2. Matt Taven-This is the highest ranking yet for the ROH TV Champion as he knocked off a former #2 in his own right in Biff Busick at Chaotic Wrestling on 10/11. The TV Champ has been unstoppable lately in Ring of Honor and he has carried over that success to every company he competes in. Can he keep the momentum going and grab his first #1 ranking?
3. Uhaa Nation-“The One Man Nation” took a week off, returned to the states, and recharged his batteries. When he returned to Japan he was a wrecking ball. He has run his 5 week record to 15-3-2 with his only blemish this weekend coming in a tag match vs. CIMA & Gamma where he did not take the pin. While it’s true he missed out on the #1 ranking this week, it’s going to be tough to keep him away from that elusive #1 spot forever.
4. Matt Tremont-“The Bulldozer” EARNS his highest ranking to date as he took down Joe Gacy in one of his biggest matches ever. On 10/12 at CZW’s “Cerebral” he defeated Gacy in a “House of Horrors” match to end their feud decisively with a victory. If Tremont can stay active and continue to win, his chances at his first #1 ranking are looking bright.
5. Papadon-It’s a return to the Indy Power Rankings for “The Greek God” as the ECWA Heavyweight Champion went out to the West Coast and proved his medal. First, he went to Wrestling Cares on 10/12 and knocked off the (soon to be) AWS Heavyweight Champion, B-Boy. He then went to AWS where he teamed with Ricky Mandel & Tyler Bateman (w/Golddigger) to defeat Ryan Taylor, SoCal Crazy & Willie Mack. A very solid week, indeed, for the Champ.
6. Shanna-The WSU International J-Cup winner now has the distinction of being the highest ranked women’s wrestler EVER in the Indy Power Rankings. 5, YES 5, victories in one weekend for Shanna sealed the deal. First she won the 3 matches to win the International J-Cup (over Santana Garrett, Jewels Malone, & Nikki Storm). She then won another contest over Leah Von Dutch. She topped off the weekend with a victory at CZW over Christina Von Eerie & Nevaeh.
7. Alex Colon-Love him or hate him, Alex Colon has done what he has had to do keep the CZW Wired TV Title since winning it on 9/14 from AR Fox. This week he retained the title vs. Andrew Everett at CZW’s “Cerebral” to continue his winning ways. Colon was ranked once before after his 2013 Best of the Best win. Can he keep up this success?
8. Josef Von Schmidt-Never heard of him? Well, it appears it’s time to look into it. He went to FSW on 10/12 and became this year’s Lord of the Ring there with 3 victories in one night. He defeated Grappling Greg, Buzz Bloodsaw, and Michael Blade to win the single elimination tournament.
9. The Daywalkers (Matt Cage & Alex Castle)-You can call them “The Daywalkers” or you can call them “The Kentucky Buffet” but you better call them successful. While both wrestlers have singles aspirations or other tag teams that keep them busy, when they’re together they’re amazing. They would probably be ranked higher had they had the opportunity to team at SLA last weekend, but they get in this week on the strength of their win at Galaxy Pro Wrestling on 10/13 vs. The Submission Squad.
10. Jessicka Havok-2 victories over the weekend gets the WSU Champion into the Indy Power Rankings for the very first time. Most impressive is the fact that she, once again, beat a man in Maxwell Chicago at FIP on 10/11. She then defended her title vs. Lexxus at WSU on 10/12 where she successfully retained the gold. “The Havok Death Machine” is looking pretty unstoppable right now.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Isys Ephex, reDRagon (as a team), Candice LeRae, Jay Briscoe, Team CK, Eddie Kingston,
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Timothy Thatcher
Benjamin Kimera
Mark Shurman
Biff Busick
AR Fox
Brian Kendrick
Tony Nese
Davey Richards
Elijah Burke
Shane Strickland
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of October 21st, 2013:
1. Adam Cole-Another close week but Cole has been #1 for 3 of 4 weeks now. Cole has not lost since early September and with his status as both ROH and PWG World Champion. This week he retained the PWG World Title in a battle with his former partner and former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings, Kyle O’Reilly. Can anyone dethrone Cole from the #1 spot?
2. Uhaa Nation-Undefeated weekend for “The One Man Nation” as he went 2-0 at Dragon Gate with a straight up tag team win as well as a 6 man tag team victory. Although Uhaa just barely missed out on #1 this week, he continues to dominate Japan.
3. Matt Taven-In a tight race, Taven barely drops one spot despite the fact that he and Rhett Titus defeated Amazing Red & Danny Demanto for the ICW Tag Team Titles on 10/19. A Boston Red Sox victory (which he attended) on 10/20 brought him some joy, but at the end of the day, he was unable to move up, possibly due to the night off.
4. Johnny Gargano-The Open the Freedom Gate Champion for DGUSA makes his return to the Indy Power Rankings. It’s a place he’s quite familiar with as he’s a 5 time former #1. This week he knocked off Roderick Strong at PWG, Paul London at PRIME Wrestling, and then capped off the weekend by winning back the PRIME title from Krimson to go 3-0 on the weekend.
5. Shane Hollister-The AAW Heavyweight Champion returns after a week out due to a loss at CZW. This week he returned to form with a successful title defense in a rematch vs. Arik Cannon. He followed that up with a victory over J.J. Garrett at SCW to get ranked once again. This is tied for his highest ranking yet. Can he build upon this and move closer to #1?
6. The Global Green Gangsters (Kellie Skater & Tomoka Nakagawa)- If you ever need an example of exactly what dominance is…look no further than “3G” this weekend. An amazing 4-0 weekend rockets them up the Indy Power Rankings. Wins over Kana & LuFisto, Made In Sin (Allysin Kay & Taylor Made), Nevaeh & Sassy Stephie, and Cherry Bomb & Kimber Lee for the SHIMMER Tag Team Champions get them their first ever ranking.
7. Cheerleader Melissa-What a weekend for the SHIMMER Champion. First she was ranked #1 in the PWI 50, then she went 3-0 to gain her first ranking in the Indy Power Rankings. Unfortunately for her, she was busted open in the process. She scored victories over Hiroyo Matsumoto, Leva Bates, and LuFisto to sweep the weekend at SHIMMER.
8. Madison Eagles-Big SHIMMER weekend for Madison Eagles as she defeated 3 women (technically 4) and went to a draw with another. She defeated Mia Yim, went to a Time Limit Draw with Nicole Matthews, defeated Jessicka Havok (last week’s #10), and finally defeated Hikaru Shida/Kana in a 3 Way. Fantastic weekend for the coffee addict!
9. Ethan Page-“All Ego” returns to the Indy Power Rankings after a dominant weekend in the U.S. and Canada. On October 18th, he and Monster Mafia teammate-Josh Alexander, advanced in the Allegiance Tag Team Tournament at AAW with a win over the current AAW Tag Team Champions-Kung Fu Manchu (Louis Lyndon & Marion Fontaine). He continued his dominance with wins at Fringe Wrestling and Alpha-1 (to retain the Alpha Male title vs. Johnny Wave) to wrap up the weekend.
10. The Hooligans-A tag team victory over Jake Parnell & Xander Legend in Dyersberg, TN for AAW (not the one in the Chicago area) was just what the doctor ordered for this brutal tag team. They’ll fight, brawl, scratch, and claw…but they’ll also win. This week they hit #10 by doing things THEIR way.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Isys Ephex, reDRagon (as a team), Jay Briscoe, Team CK
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Benjamin Kimera
JT Dunn
Jessicka Havok
The Young Bucks
Drake Younger
Chase Owens & Jason Kincaid
The Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & DH Smith)
Rob Conway
Kevin Steen
Justin Credible
Jimmy Jacobs & Silas Young
Kansas City Killers (Mark Sterling & Jeremy Wyatt)
Jay Lethal
Cherry Bomb & Kimber Lee
Christina Von Erie
Matt Cage
Caleb Konley
Arik Royal
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of October 28th, 2013:
1. Michael Elgin-After a so-so tour of Europe, Elgin put on his Superman cape and went nuts! “Unbreakable” is putting it lightly this week. First he won the Champions vs All Stars 8 man tag at Glory By Honor by eliminating all 4 of his opponents (including former #1’s Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly), which in itself was ridiculous enough. He then went to Beyond Wrestling in St. Louis and beat former #2 Jonathan Gresham in a singles match. He EARNED his #1 this week.
2. The Global Green Gangsters (Kellie Skater & Tomoka Nakagawa)- The SHIMMER Tag Team Champions did what they had to do and thus, they move up to the highest spot for any female tag team, or female, PERIOD, in the history of the Indy Power Rankings. Their title defense vs. Allysin Kay & Ivelisse Velez at SHINE 14 cements their place as the top tag team in Women’s wrestling.
3. Shane Hollister-The AAW Heavyweight Champion gets his highest ranking to date! While he didn’t beat Eddie Kingston on 10/25 (a double DQ), he did continue his success with a victory at SCW on 10/26 as he and Matt Cage defeated Johnny Wisdom and Brian Bronson. “The Shug” is finding ways to keep on rolling!
4. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-What a week for the PWG & DGUSA Tag champs! They took the Superkick Party to New Japan where they proceeded to go 3-0 with a DOMINANT debut there! Look out for the former #1’s in the Indy Power Rankings to continue to rise up the rankings.
5. Tony Nese-How does an indy star like Tony Nese build on his already stellar reputation? By traveling to Dragon Gate in Japan and going 3-0 in his debut there! Not an easy task for any Gaijin. Impressive indeed!
6. Drake Younger-What more could the Ultraviolent Golden Boy do than have a flawless weekend? He gets ranked on the strength of 3 wins at PWB, APW, and a wrestling charity show. Drake continues to show the world how hard he has worked to get to this spot.
7. The Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter)-The Bearded Bullies get their highest ranking to date as they pick up 2 wins at Beyond Wrestling in St. Louis over Davey Vega & Jonathan Gresham and Alexander Rudolph & Jake Parnell. That’s 2 straight weekends ranked for this Midwest tag team!
8. Jamin Olivencia-The OVW Heavyweight Champion returns to the Indy Power Rankings with a victory over OVW TV Champ Shiloh Jonze at the TV taping on 10/23. He continues his historic title reign there.
9. Jay Bradley-3 wins in one night at OVW on 10/23 vs. Eddie Diamond, Jay Best, and Stephon J. Baxter III! Amazing weekend for the potential TNA superstar.
10. The Daywalkers-Another week and yet another victory for the team of Matt Cage & Alex Castle. Both men are active in singles, but this week it was their victory vs. Reed Bentley & Trik Davis at Beyond Wrestling that gets them in as a team.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Isys Ephex, Jay Briscoe
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Benjamin Kimera
Adam Cole
Jonathan Gresham
Johnny Gargano
Matt Cage (in singles)
Alex Castle (in singles)
Jeff Cobb
Aaron Biggs
Eddie Kingston
Madison Eagles
Big Dusty & Matt Atreya
Kahagas
Silas Young
Nikki Storm
Irish Airborne
Zero Gravity
Tony Sly
Terror Khan & Anthony Lee
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 4th, 2013:
1. Jamin Olivencia-The OVW Heavyweight Champion grabs his first ever #1 ranking as he once again defeated Shiloh Jonze at OVW’s Saturday Night Special. Olivencia has been absolutely dominant in recent months, scoring victories over OVW talent and indy stars such as Johnny Gargano. Could Kurt Angle be the next victim to Olivencia’s winning streak?
2. The Jollyville Fuck-Its (Russ Myers & T-Money)-Their first time being ranked and they’re all the way near the top of the Indy Power Rankings at #2! After a 3-0 night at AIW in the Double Dare Tag Team Tournament, they won not only the tournament and tag team title #1 contendership, but also the #2 ranking. They defeated Team UK, Youthanazia, and NIXON to secure the victory in the one night IPPV tournament. Amazing night!
3. Kahagas-Another fantastic weekend for the NWA North American Champion as he successfully defended his title, not once, not twice, but three times over the weekend. He was absolutely dominant at NWA FUW with wins over Francisco Ciatso, Rafi Rex, and Deimos to continue his absolutely amazing win streak. It appears that a #1 ranking could be in the near future if this success continues at this pace.
4. Matt Taven-A very strong weekend for the ROH TV Champion as he picked up a victory over Mikey Webb at Chaotic Wrestling on 11/1 and then followed that up with a successful title defense vs. Adam Page on 11/2 at ROH. Can Taven continue his rise up the Indy Power Rankings to claim his first #1 ranking? Time will tell.
5. Michael Elgin-A slow week for some of the talent helps Elgin out here. He went 2-1-1 on the week, but that was enough to keep him in the top 5, despite the loss. “Unbreakable” may have dropped a match to John Greed at Squared Circle Wrestling, but that wasn’t enough to boot him down the rankings very far. Look out for him to continue to work his way back up the rankings in his search for yet another #1 ranking.
6. Johnny Gargano-After a loss last week, “All Heart” bounced back this week with a victory over Jonathan Gresham in an indy dream match at AIW. The 5 time #1 in the Indy Power Rankings and current Open the Freedom Gate and Prime Champion is no stranger to the Indy Power Rankings. Can he break the tie with Kevin Steen in the near future? They are still tied at 5 for the most amount of #1 rankings!
7. Benjamin Kimera-A 2-0 week gets the former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings and current Rockstar Pro Champion back into the top 10 with a bang. With victories on 10/30 and 11/1, Kimera is making his way back up the rankings looking to return to the top spot once again. A 2 time former #1 already, Kimera is looking to continue to put his name out there with big wins left and right.
8. Jay Briscoe-The former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings returns after having to relinquish his ranking and the ROH World Title, due to injury. This week he picked up where he left off with a HUGE victory over Kevin Steen at ROH in Cincinnati to add himself to the ROH World Title match at Final Battle. Can Briscoe reclaim his title and the #1 ranking?
9. Amasis-The WIF! Banana Champ makes his return to the Indy Power Rankings this week after a successful defense of his title on 11/3 vs. Max Smashmaster. One half of the Osirian Portal has been very impressive in 2013 before being derailed by a severe concussion, but he’s back on the right track once again!
10. Marcus Lewis-The APW Young Lions Cup Tournament Winner makes his first ever appearance in the Indy Power Rankings as he defeated 3 men in one night to win the tournament. He beat Truex, Dominic Simon, and Sione Finau on the way to the crown. Impressive outing for the youngster gets him some recognition with the #9 ranking this week.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Isys Ephex, reDRagon (as a team), Eddie Kingston, Global Green Gangsters, Adam Cole, Daywalkers (as a team)
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Kekoa the Flyin Hawaiian
The Estonian Thunderfrog
Juan Francisco de Coronado
Drew Gulak
Shane Strickland
Alex Colon
Matt Morgan
Bobby Ocean
Hooligans
Jessy Sorensen
Jimmy Jacobs
Biff Busick
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 11th, 2013:
1. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson)-How much more dominant can a tag team be? Yes, they struggled last week (in mostly 6 man tags) but this week they bounced back with HISTORIC wins at New Japan in the biggest way possible. First, on November 6th, they won the Super Junior Tag Tournament by knocking off World Class Tag Team (Gedo & Jado) and The Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero) in one night. As if that wasn’t enough, on November 9th, they defeated Suzki-gun (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku) to become the NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. This is their second time at the #1 spot in the Indy Power Rankings.
2. Michael Elgin-After a solid week last week and a #1 ranking the week before, “Unbreakable” needed something big to happen going into this week to move up. That happened in the form of The Gr8 Eight Tournament at Hard-Knocks Wrestling on November 10th. In one night he was able to win a 4 way over Rickey Shane Page, Shane Taylor, and Mike Rayne to advance to the finals, where he defeated EC3 to become the 2013 Gr8 Eight Champion. Who said Elgin couldn’t win tournaments? Ok, we hinted at that. We’ll take the blame.
3. Benjamin Kimera-Another week and yet another victory for the Rockstar Pro Champion. Does he lose? Yes, but not very often, and definitely not in singles matches. This week at “Amped” on November 6th, he defeated Pompano Joe to continue his impressive string of wins.
4. Uhaa Nation-No matter the continent, the big man is dominant. While most of his success has been in Japan this year, this week, he took his show to a different country to show off what he could do. His first victory came at IPW: UK on November 9th as he knocked off Jonathan Windsor. He then went to Kamikaze Pro where he bested Eddie Dennis. “Rise of Uhaa”? Indeed.
5. Biff Busick/Frank O’Rourke-Don’t call him “Francis”…or you may end up like his opponents this week. At Wrestling is Art on 11/9 he went up against The Estonian Thunderfrog and came out victorious. The next day at Wrestling is Art’s last show (?) he defeated Antonio “The Promise” Thomas. Busick is looking to score his first ever #1 in the Indy Power Rankings before the end of 2013!
6. Jervis Cottonbelly-The resident gentleman of Wrestling Is, scored a couple of surprising wins this weekend at Wrestling is Art. He knocked off Kodama on 11/9 and then Tim Donst on 11/10. That makes 3 straight wins for Jervis! Can he continue this winning streak?
7. Jeckles the Jester-What a fantastic week for Jeckles! At the APW show on November 8th (R.I.P. Roland Alexander) he was able to win the APW Internet Title in a 4 Way also involving former #2 Drake Younger, Billy Blade, and the defending champion, Vinny Massaro. Then, on November 10th, at Pro Wrestling Bushido, he won another 4 Way to cap off the week. He has been building momentum over the last few months, but this is his first ranking. Congrats to him!
8. Drew Gulak-The CZW World Champion and former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings returns with an undefeated weekend at Wrestling is Art. Granted, he went to a Time Limit Draw with Colt Cabana on 11/10, but his victory over Kobald on 11/9 was a big one. Look out for him to start making waves as he attempts to move back up to the #1 ranking in the very near future.
9. Green Ant-Looks like the 3 straight for (arguably) the most technically sound of all the ants! This week he went 2-0 at Wrestling is Art as he defeated Sidney Bakabella in singles competition on 11/9 and then followed that up with a tag team victory (with assailant) vs. The Devastation Corporation on 11/10. He’s certainly no stranger to the Indy Power Rankings at this point!
10. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr & Lance Archer)-Why are the new IWGP Tag Team Champions not higher on the list? It was a bitter sweet weekend for the Killer Elite Squad as they won the IWGP Tag Team Titles and lost the NWA Tag Team Titles to Rob Conway & Jax Dane (also involving Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) in essentially the same match. Regardless of that, they get a much deserved ranking as they are now 2 time IWGP Tag Team Champions.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Isys Ephex, reDRagon (as a team), Eddie Kingston, Global Green Gangsters, Adam Cole, Jay Briscoe, Johnny Gargano, Kahagas, Daywalkers (as a team)
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Mohamad Ali Vaez and Michael Hayes
Rockstar Spud
Justin Credible
Willie Mack
Rob Conway
Roman Dominguez
Jamar Justice
Aaron Williams
Tony Nese
The Estonian Thunderfrog
Karl Anderson
MVP
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 18th, 2013:
1. Michael Elgin-Another great weekend for “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin lands him at #1 again. With a weekend record of 2-0-1, the former AAW Heavyweight Champion reaches the top of the Indy Power Rankings once again. First, he went to a draw with Mark Briscoe on 11/15 at ROH. He then defeated Matt Taven, Roderick Strong, and Jay Lethal in a 4 Way at ROH. Finally, at Beyond Wrestling on 11/17, he beat Jaka in a match that featured tons of insanity…including the ring breaking! With a ROH World Title shot at Final Battle 2013 coming up, can Elgin end 2013 at the top of the Indy Power Rankings?
2. Matt Tremont-The Carnage Cup 9 Winner at IWA Deep South comes inches away from number one this week. 3 wins over the span of 2 nights in the most gruesome matches imaginable get Tremont a lot of love from the voters this week. With his recent wins in CZW and OnPoint Wrestling as well, look out for “The Bulldozer” to continue this dominance in 2014.
3. Bravado Brothers (Lance & Harlem Bravado)-The NEW DGUSA Open the United Gate Champions shoot to the #3 spot after defeating last week’s #1 The Young Bucks for the titles. Not willing to rest on their laurels, they beat Jigsaw & Fire Ant and Caleb Konley & Andrew Evrett the next night. The Bravado Bandwagon has hit its highest ranking yet!
4. The Food Fighters (Bastian Snow & Pasquale The Italian Chef)-The winners of the ISW Burger King of the Ring 2: Double Whopper Tournament and NEW ISW Tag Team Champions make their very first appearance in the Indy Power Rankings with a 3-0 night on 11/16. With victories over Jaka & Leon St. Giovanni,The Badd Boys (Brad Badd & Chad Badd), and Le Tabarnak de Team in the tournament, they made a big push for the #1 spot this week!
5. The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)-Last week’s #1 drops a bit after losing the DGUSA Open the United Gate Titles to the Bravado Brothers, but they redeemed themselves with a win the next night vs. AR Fox & Masaaki Mochizuki at DGUSA. On top of that, on 11/15, they won a one night tournament to win the HOG Tag Team Titles by defeating Marq Quinn & Sniley, Mikey Whipwreck, & The Amazing Red, and Homicide & Hernandez. With a weekend record of 4-1, they could have easily been back at the #1 spot this week if not for all of the tough competition. They are truly the Ultimo Dragon of the tag team world.
6. JT Dunn-“The Juice” jumps back into the Indy Power Rankings by winning the Beyond Wrestling Tournament for Tomorrow 2. He started the weekend off in disappointing fashion with a loss to Kimber Lee, but turned it all around with wins in the tournament vs. Candice LeRae, Christina Von Eerie, Kimber Lee, and Green Ant. Look out for big things from JT Dunn in 2014!
7. Adam Cole-Why such a low ranking for the ROH and PWG World Champion? A few weeks off due to a concussion kept him inactive, so was it “out of sight, out of mind” for the Double Champion? Regardless of the reasoning, he picked up where he left off this weekend with wins vs. Jimmy Jacobs and ACH at ROH. While he’s not in usual spot in the top 3, it’s almost a lock that he’ll return to AT LEAST the top 5 before 2013…if he can hold on to his titles, that is.
8. Green Ant-So close yet so far away. Had Green Ant been able to defeat JT Dunn in the finals of the Beyond Wrestling Tournament for Tomorrow 2, it’s conceivable that he’d be the #1 this week! As it stands, he moves up one spot from last week as he racked up victories vs. Aaron, Epic, Darius Carter and Matthew Palmer to go 3-1 on the weekend (4-1 if you count the forfeit) at Beyond. This technical ant is only getting better as 2014 approaches.
9. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)-Another weekend ends with another successful title defense for the ROH World Tag Team Champions. On 11/16 they succeeded in breaking up the team of Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman by turning away their challenge once again. Their only losses in straight up tag team competition are to Forever Hooligans and American Wolves. The only thing that keeps them from a higher ranking this week is their inactivity as a team since 10/26. No doubt that they’re planning to work their way up to their first #1 spot as a team.
10. Jay Briscoe-Certainly not the highest ranking for the former ROH World Champion, but that happens when he missed 4+ months of action and then another 2 weeks between ROH shows. He has his chance to prove all the doubters wrong at ROH Final Battle 2013, but in the mean time, he did knock off Silas Young at ROH on 11/15 to continue his singles win streak. Consider this, yes he took 4+ months off due to injury, but he has not lost in singles competition since a loss to Charlie Haas on 5/19/12. THAT long.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Matt Cage, Shane Hollister, Christian Rose, Isys Ephex, Global Green Gangsters, Daywalkers (as a team)
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Biff Busick: 1-1 weekend with a victory in an Iron Man match vs. Eddie Edwards at Beyond Wrestling
Aaron Williams-2-0 weekend for the NEW Rockstar Pro Champion
Eddie Edwards: 3-3 and the Robbie Ellis Super Juniors Tournament Winner
Uhaa Nation: 3-2, Last Week’s #4
Jamin Olivencia: 2-0, OVW Champion
Chris Hero: 1-1 on his return to the Indies
Starman: 1-0 with a win vs. Dan Maff
Chrisjen Hayme: Winner of Lucha 6 Man at IWA Deep South’s Carnage Cup 9
Outlaw Inc. (Homicide and Eddie Kingston): Undefeated in ROH as a team, 1-0 with a win over the American Wolves
Anthony Nese: 2-1 weekend
Matt Taven: 2-1 weekend
Johnny Gargano: 1-1 weekend with a win vs. Chris Hero
AR Fox: 2-1 weekend
Reed Bentley: 1-0 with a EPW Elite Title Win
Sugar Dunkerton: Winner of the Pro Wrestling Ego Great Southern 8 Tournament
Brian Cage
Pinkie Sanchez
Lince Dorado
Drake Younger-2 Successful Title Defenses of the SPW Extreme Title & PWB TV Title
Kimber Lee-4-1 weekend
Christina Von Eerie-4-1 weekend
Homicide: 3-1 weekend
Davey Vega: 3 Wins to win the ACW Lone Star Classic
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of November 25th, 2013:
1. Matt Tremont-“The Bulldozer” scores his first ever #1 ranking! This week he defeated Joey Janela at OnPoint Wrestling to run his 2 week total to 4-0 (with a win in Carnage Cup 9 last week). According to cagematch.net and wrestlingdata.com, he has not lost since August 10th of 2013. Looks like 8 straight for the big man! Crucial matches on 12/6 and 12/14 will be huge as to his placement in the IPR 100.
2. Caleb Konley-The PWX Heavyweight Champion gets his highest ranking to date as he successfully defended his title on back to back nights. “The Midnight Son” first defeated Tony Nese on 11/22 at PWX Climbing the Ladder, then defeated Adam Page, Cedric Alexander, and Corey Hollis in a Ladder Match to retain the title. He’s now won 3 out of his last 4 matches.
3. Aaron Williams-The Rockstar Pro Champion is continuing to rack up wins as he has now grabbed his highest ranking to date! This week he defeated Jon Murray at Rockstar Pro before travelling to D1W in Charlestown, IN where he teamed with Ron Mathis to defeat Big Dusty & Matt Atreya to win the D1W Tag Team Titles. Now a double champion, Aaron Williams doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon with 4 wins in the last 2 weeks.
4. Michael BS Hayes-1/2 of the OVW Southern Tag Team Champions flew up the Indy Power Rankings this week after having picked up his 10th straight win (according to wrestlingdata.com). His last loss was a tag team match on 10/16/13. Impressive string of victories for the primarily tag team wrestler.
5. Marshe Rockett-All he does is win. A 2-0 weekend for the DREAMWAVE Alternative Champion adds to his already impressive 8 match win streak. According to wrestlingdata.com, his last loss was in the DREAMWAVE Good as Gold Battle Royal on 9/14/13. This week he defeated M.T.W. DaCobra at RPW and Mr. Bank$ to run his streak to 10 wins.
6. Hallowicked-The NEW Wrestlejam Champion made a big impact this week with his wins at Wrestlejam and Wrestling is Respect. His Wrestlejam Tournament victory and title win was impressive and somewhat surprising. Speaking of surprises, his introduction as Drew Gulak’s mystery partner in the win over Green Ant and Fire Ant at Wrestling is Respect was slightly surprising as well. Can Hallowicked maintain this new found success?
7. Matt Taven-The ROH TV Champion travelled to TRP where he defeated Biff Busick and then followed that up with a victory at LSP over Vinny Marseglia to go 2-0 on the weekend. Taven has been on fire throughout 2013 and the question now remains…will he still hold the ROH TV title entering 2014?
8. Isys Ephex-The 2CW Heavyweight Champion did what he does best when 2CW shows roll around; he won. On this occasion, he won twice. On 11/22 he defeated Jason Axe and then followed that up on 11/23 with a victory vs. Colin Delaney. That is 7 straight wins and 10 successful title defenses for the 2CW Champion.
9. Dojo Bros (Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards)-A BIG 2-0 weekend for The Dojo Bros gets them in the top 10 for the very first time. While they haven’t scored a lot of wins as a team, they’ve been impressive time and time again together. This week, it was their victories over Kevin Graham & Punisher VanSlyke (now the 2CW Tag Team Champions) and last week’s #5 The Young Bucks that gets them in.
10. Shane Hollister-The AAW Heavyweight Champion returns to the Indy Power Rankings after a couple of weeks off. This time, he gets in with a big 6 man tag team victory at SCW as he teamed with Marek Brave and Vader (yes, THAT Vader) to defeat Mallaki Matthews, Christian Rose, and Tyler Priegel. With big AAW shows, “The Shug” is looking to move up the rankings once again.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Global Green Gangsters, Daywalkers (as a team), reDRagon (as a team), Brian Cage, Drake Younger
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
The Hooligans: 1-0 weekend with a successful SNPW title defense
Gary Jay/Gerald James: Added a VWAA title to his collection on 11/24
Drew Gulak: Big tag team win at WIR on 11/24 vs. Green Ant & Fire Ant
Jocephus: Won the RPW Heavyweight Title from Robert Anthony on 11/24
Kimber Lee/Princess Kimberlee: Defeated Portia Perez at WIF! On 11/23-Won 6 of 7
Michael Elgin: 2-1 Record over the weekend
Slyck Wagner Brown: 2-0 at 2CW and Chaotic Wrestling
Chris Dickinson: 2-0 weekend at WIR and OPW. 3 straight wins, overall.
Pinkie Sanchez: 1-0 at OPW. 4 straight wins, overall.
Shane Hollister: 1-0 at SCW
Mark Shurman: 1-0 with a successful CW Title defense vs. MPG
Wildman Kongo: 1-0 with a win vs. Anthony Greene at TRP
Tommaso Ciampa: 1-0 with a win vs. Biff Busick at XWA
Shane Strickland: 2-0 at XWA and OPW
Ricky Love-Successful IPW Title Defense
Kristian Frost-Successful XWA Title Defense
David Starr: 2-1 weekend
JT Dunn: 3-1 weekend
Thomas Sinclair: New VWAA Champion
Kevin Steen: 2-0 at 2CW
Adam Cole: 2-1 at Tidal Wave Wrestling and PROGRESS
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of December 2nd, 2013:
1. Caleb Konley-The PWX Heavyweight Champion took his opportunity this week and walked away with the #1 spot after successfully defending his title vs. 4 of the biggest names in the sport at WrestleCade 2013. He outlasted Adam Page, Hurricane Helms, Sonjay Dutt, and Steve Corino in an Elimination Match. What a title reign it’s been for Konley!
2. Adam Cole-The ROH and PWG World Champion jumps back into the Indy Power Rankings once again. If not for a broken down vehicle in Germany, Cole may very well be #1 this week. Cole finishes off his European tour with an excellent 5-1 record. This week he won 3 matches. On 11/26 he teamed with Mark Haskins to defeat Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) at Tidal Championship Wrestling. On 11/29 he defeated Josh Bodom at RPW New Territory and then won his final match on 11/30 at wXw in a 16 Carat Gold 2014 Qualifying Match vs.Mark Haskins. With the IPR 100 approaching, Adam Cole continues to build on his accomplishments for 2013.
3. Michael Elgin-New continent. Same story. Elgin is 2-0-1 on his Australian Tour as he travelled to NHPW and defeated Aaron O’Malley and Chris Vice, Grimm, and Michael Morleone in a Monster’s Ball Match on 11/29. He followed that up with a 30 minute time limit draw vs. The NHPW Art of Fighting Champion Chris Vice on 11/30. Elgin truly is “Unbreakable”.
4. Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson-Let this record sink in: 7-1 as a team. “The Sun Tan Biker Man” and “The Machine Gun” represented BULLET CLUB well as they absolutely dominated the last 2 weeks at New Japan Pro Wrestling. Had they not suffered one loss vs. La Sombra & Tetsuya Naito on 11/29, they’d have as good of an argument as anyone for the #1 spot this week. Check out their body of work the last 2 weeks:
11/23 Win vs. BUSHI & Kota Ibushi
11/24 Win vs. CHAOS (Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano)
11/25 Win vs. BUSHI & KUSHIDA
11/26 Win vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI)
11/28 Win vs. Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Shelton Benjamin, & TAKA Michinoku) in an 8 Man Tag
11/29 Loss vs. La Sombra & Tetsuya Naito
11/30 Win vs. Captain New Japan & Togi Makabe
12/1 Win vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) in an 8 Man Tag
5. Colt Cabana-The RPW British Heavyweight Champion ends his European tour unblemished and undefeated. With 5 wins and 0 losses, Cabana jumps back into the Indy Power Rankings after a very long time since his last appearance. Victories over Rampage Brown (twice), Adam Cole, Marty Scurll, and Chuck Taylor grab “Boom Boom” his highest spot since earlier in 2013.
6. Aaron Williams-The Rockstar Pro Champion drops just a few spots (due to heavy competition this week) after a win at Amped on 11/27. He teamed with Thunder Kitty to defeat American Beast & Samantha Heights. Williams is looking to duplicate the prior success of former Rockstar Pro Champion Benjamin Kimera with his first ever #1 ranking.
7. Michael Hayes-One half of the OVW Southern Tag Team Champions drops 3 spots due to strong competition, but he did his job as he defeated Shiloh Jonze on 11/27 at OVW Thanksgiving Thunder. His win streak has now been extended to 11. No one has been more consistent in recent weeks than Hayes.
8. Kevin Steen-The NEW AAW Heavyweight Champion gets in with a 1-1 record over the weekend, complete with a victory over Shane Hollister (and a loss to Johnny Gargano). His strength of competition was through the roof this week as he continued to prove that as long as he is on the indies, he will forever be relevant.
9. Biff Busick-After a poor week last week, Busick bounces back strong by winning the TRP Killer Kowalski Cup 2013 on 11/28. Thanksgiving night he defeated Kongo, Mikey Webb, and Jimmy Preston to win this year’s tournament. Busick is still seeking that elusive #1 ranking before the end of 2013.
10. Matt Cage-The NEW AAW Heritage Champion jumps in after a big victory over ACH. He is now a Double Champion as he holds both the AAW Heritage Title and SCW Title. Cage has been very impressive in 2013. With big shows in the next few weeks, can “The Proud Caucasian” reign supreme at the #1 spot once again?
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Matt Tremont, Young Bucks, Global Green Gangsters, Daywalkers (as a team), reDRagon (as a team), Drake Younger, Bobby Fish
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
The Hooligans-Retained the PGP Tag Team Titles vs. 2 Star Heroes
Jimmy Jacobs & Silas Young-4-0 as a team, Winners of the AAW Allegiance Tag Team Tournament
Juice Jennings-The WAR Champion for over 316 days now, defeated Jock Samson at WAR on 11/30
El Chupacabra-The NEW AWS Light Heavyweight Champion
Juntai Miller-The NEW CLASH Champion
Dave Manzo & The Wreckingball-The NEW CLASH Tag Team Champions
Kyle O’Reilly-Defeated one half of the AAW Tag Team Champions, Louis Lyndon
Ethan Page-3-1 weekend
Marek Brave-Beat Christian Rose in a Loser Leaves Berwyn Match
Chris Hero-Defeated Mr. 450 to improve to 2-3 since his return to the indies
Vinny Marseglia-Defeated Matt Taven’s team at TRP on 11/28
AR Fox-Undefeated on his tour of Chile
The Big O-NYWC Champion defeated Tony Nese in a Loser Leaves Town match
Matt Morgan-Retained the NWA FUW Heavyweight Title vs. Titan
Kahagas-Retained the NWA North American Title vs. Jeff Boom
Rich Swann-Retained the NWA FUW Slash Title vs. Lince Dorado, Santos, & Eddie Taurus
Los Bandidos-NEW AWS Tag Team Champions, defeating Suburban Commandos & PPRAY
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of December 9th, 2013
1. Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson-Let’s talk about the most important aspect of the Indy Power Rankings…win-loss record: 12-2 as a team. “The Sun Tan Biker Man” and “The Machine Gun” represented BULLET CLUB as they ran over all the competition over the last 3 weeks at New Japan Pro Wrestling. By virtue of that dominance, they won the World Tag League 2013. Could the IWGP Tag Team Titles be next? Check out their body of work the last 3 weeks:
11/23 Win vs. BUSHI & Kota Ibushi
11/24 Win vs. CHAOS (Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano)
11/25 Win vs. BUSHI & KUSHIDA
11/26 Win vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI)
11/28 Win vs. Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Shelton Benjamin, & TAKA Michinoku) in an 8 Man Tag
11/29 Loss vs. La Sombra & Tetsuya Naito
11/30 Win vs. Captain New Japan & Togi Makabe
12/1 Win vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) in an 8 Man Tag
12/3 Win vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)
12/5 Loss vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin)
12/6 Win vs. BUSHI, Captain New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & KUSHIDA in an 8 Man Tag
12/7 Win vs. Jax Dane & Rob Conway
12/8 Win vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)
12/8 Win vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)
2. Adam Cole-The PWG & ROH World Champion did what he always does over the weekend…and that’s winning. He travelled to Culver City, CA for Wrestling Cares where he defeated Steve Anthony in the Semi-Finals of the Race For the Ring Tournament. He now has two dates with destiny in the future as Johnny Gargano is waiting in the wings in January in the Finals. In the mean time, he’ll have to fend off Michael Elgin/Jay Briscoe at ROH Final Battle 2013 and Chris Hero (followed by Johnny Gargano, if successful) at PWG All Star Weekend. No rest for the wicked.
3. The Hooligans-No team has been as consistent or successful throughout 2013 as the Cutter Brothers. Devin and Mason Cutter have been on a path of destruction in recent months. This weekend they went 3-0 as they ran roughshod over St. Louis Anarchy (vs. The Big Owl & Jordan Lacey), Zero-1 USA (vs. Team IOU), and Beyond Wrestling (vs. Team IOU). The Bearded Bullies promised an undefeated weekend and lived up to their promise.
4. Tony Nese-3 wins. 1 night. Nese defeated Brian Kendrick, Trent Barreta, and former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings John Morrison in the FWE Openweight Grand Prix to win the Tournament. After losing a Loser Leaves Town match last week at NYWC to Big O, he has really gotten the momentum back with a successful outing. Can he climb to his highest ranking before the end of 2013? Time will tell.
5. Rich Swann & Roderick Strong-Either man could have been ranked in singles this weekend due to their success over the last few weeks, but this week, it’s their new found dominance as a tag team that gets them in. With a title win over The Bravado Brothers at FIP and a follow-up title defense the next night vs. 2 Former #1’s in Caleb Konley & Andrew Everett, this makeshift tag team is really finding its legs in the state of Florida. Look out for them to continue to rise, either as a team, or in singles. Great hot streak for both men.
6. Reed Bentley-It’s a familiar spot in the top 10 for “Cut Throat” or “By God” as he became the NEW DWW Alternative Champion with a victory vs. Marshe Rockett on 12/7. This came on the heels of one of his biggest victories to date, after he defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a First Blood Match at IWA Mid-South on 12/6. He’s also the EPW Elite Champion…a title which he will defend vs. Mad Man Pondo on 12/12. Can Bentley continue this success?
7. Drake Younger-“The Ultra Violent Golden Boy” earns his highest ranking in quite some time as he was victorious over former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings, Christian Rose, at IWA Mid-South on 12/6. He then flew back to the West Coast for Wrestling Cares where he defeated DJ Hyde in a “Zero Tolerance Match” to continue to show that Drake Younger is anything but “just a garbage wrestler.” 2013 has been his year to shine.
8. JT Dunn-What can you say about “The Juice” other than he is just flat out impressive? After winning the Beyond Tournament for Tomorrow 2, he suffered a loss that set him back a bit, but he bounced back strong with 2 victories over the weekend as he defeated Davey Cash of Da Hoodz at RWA on 11/6 and then followed that up with a successful NEFW Title Defense vs. Mike Bennett on 11/7. Perhaps no one has seen a quicker rise in 2013 than this young star.
9. Matt Tremont-The Bulldozer did what he has done throughout most of 2013 when he’s had the opportunity…he won. 2 weeks ago he was the #1 in the Indy Power Rankings. A week off and a heavy slate of competition this week cost him a few spots in the top 10, but he has not been forgotten by the voters. A victory over Corporal Robinson & Ox Harley in a 3 Way Weapons Match at IWA Mid-South was just further proof of what he can do. CZW’s Cage of Death on 12/14 will further showcase this monster. Will we see him in the top 10 again when it’s all said and done?
10. Aaron Williams-Another week and another victory for the Rockstar Pro Champion as he defeated Nate Wings on 12/4. While it’s true that he does fall a bit from last week and the week before, the horrible snow storms in the Midwest are most likely to blame. His scheduled match vs. Benjamin Kimera was moved to 12/13, so time will tell if he can improve upon his placement in the top 10 after this weekend.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Global Green Gangsters, Daywalkers (as a team), reDRagon (as a team), Bobby Fish
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
Juice Jennings-The WAR Champion added the RWA Pro Tag Titles to his collection on 12/7
David Starr-2-0 weekend at FIP for “The Product”
Mark Shurman & Scotty Slade-2-0 weekend for “The Best Friends”
Cedric Alexander-NEW WrestleForce Champion
Earl Cooter-2-0 weekend at FIP
Kyle O’Reilly-HUGE victory vs. Johnny Gargano at St. Louis Anarchy
Tapu-2-0 weekend at IWE Maine
Justin Credible-2-1 at IWE Maine
Scott Wild-2-0 at IWE Maine
Chris Castro-Defeated former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings Ricochet on 12/7 at DWW
Young Bucks-Victory in a 10 Man Elimination Tag Team Match at FWE
Colt Cabana-Defeated Eric Young at FWE
Drew Gulak-Victorious over Mark Angelosetti at WIC on 12/8
Dos Ben Dejos-2-0 weekend at FIP
Pinkie Sanchez-2-0 weekend at FIP
Ricky Mandel-Winner of the Percy Pringle III Memorial Cup at CWF Hollywood on 12/8
Jack Thriller-2-0 Weekend with a victory vs. Necro Butcher at IWA Mid-South
Mikey Webb-Winner of the LPW Heavyweight Title Lucky Lottery Battle Royal
Chris Hero-A win vs. Trik Davis, a loss vs. Prince Mustafa Ali, a win vs. Aaron Epic (now 4-4)
Helter Skelter-STILL the DWW Tag Team Champions
Chris Wylde-NEW ECWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion
Mark Quinn-NEW NEFW No Limits Champion
The Mobile Homers (Adam Revolver & Ted McNaler)-NEW OVW Southern Tag Team Champions
Jamin Olivencia-NEW OVW Heavyweight Champion (again)
Indy Power Rankings for the Week of December 16th, 2013
1. Adam Cole-The PWG & ROH World Champion went into the weekend with two World titles and left the weekend with two World titles. In one of the biggest main events of arguably the biggest ROH show of the year, Adam Cole retained the ROH World Title vs. Michael Elgin and Jay Briscoe in a 3 Way. This is Cole’s 4th #1 ranking in 2013. He boat raced the competition this week as he was a unanimous #1. Can he do it 2 weeks straight? He has 2 HUGE matches at PWG coming up.
2. Aaron Williams-The Rockstar Pro Champion (and ½ of the D1W Tag Team Champions) went 3-0 in that very promotion this week as he won a 10 Man Tag (getting the pinfall for his team) on 12/11, defeated Alex Colon on 12/11, and then defeated 2 time former #1 Benjamin Kimera on 12/13. They call him “The Baddest Man on the Planet.” With his recent track record, it would be hard to argue against that moniker.
3. The Hooligans-Devin and Mason Cutter have absolutely bullied every bit of competition that has been put in their path in 2013…and more often than not, they’ve come out victorious. This weekend they teamed with former #2 Jonathan Gresham to defeat Team LSD in a 6 Man Tag at SNPW. They appear to be unstoppable at this point, but with the recent announcement of a big match vs. The Young Bucks on 3/1 at SLA, can they prove they are truly THE elite tag team in the Midwest?
4. Drake Younger-Drake jumps a few spots this week as “The Ultra Violent Golden Boy” defeated Sal Thomaselli by DQ in a Title vs. Title match at SPW. A six-man match was the end result of this which led to the team of Drake Younger, El Flaco Loco, and Sir Samurai defeating Sal Thomaselli, Mustafa Saed, and Joe DeSoul. He has been dominant the last few weeks, but with a PWG double shot coming up, could he make a strong argument for his very first #1 ranking?
5. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)-While they haven’t teamed quite as frequently as a team like the Young Bucks in recent months, consider this, they have still only lost in straight up tag team competition to 2 teams: Former #1 The American Wolves and The Forever Hooligans. Per cagematch.net, in matches that were either straight up tag team matches or 3 another form of tag team match where it is just them teaming with no other partners (Gauntlet or 3 Way), they are 21-2. Let that sink in. 21-2. At Final Battle, they handed the first ROH loss to Outlaw Inc (previously 5-0 in ROH) to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles. It’s been a banner year for Fish & O’Reilly.
6. Reed Bentley-The DREAMWAVE Alternative & EPW Elite Champion holds steady this week after successfully defending his EPW Elite Title vs. Madman Pondo on 12/12. Bentley has been racking up checks in the win column over the last few weeks in various promotions in the Midwest. With another title defense on 12/22, can he continue to maintain this type of success? It will be interesting to see if Reed “By God” Bentley can continue to turn heads around the indies.
7. Drew Gulak-The former #1 in the Indy Power Rankings gets back in this week with a big title defense vs. Chris Hero at CZW. The CZW World Champion has been a fighting champion thus far, but with a rematch vs. MASADA on the horizon, can he continue to reign supreme for a better CZW? 2014 will start off with tough challenges ahead.
8. Facade-Big weekend for Facade as he once again gets ranked this week. He defeated Former #1 Johnny Gargano and Colt Cabana in a 3 Way at IWC Winner Takes All 2013 on 12/14 to earn his way into the Indy Power Rankings this week. He is now the #1 Contender to the IWC Super Indy Title. Could 2014 be an even bigger year for Facade?
9. A.J. Smooth-On 12/14, IPW in Iowa presented the Christmas Cup. A.J. Smooth ran through 3 people in one night (Tony Sly, Sparrow, & The Big Picture) to win the tournament. This is his first time being ranked in the Indy Power Rankings and if this weekend was any indication of what he can do, this won’t be his last.
10. Mark Shurman-After another successful Chaotic Wrestling Title defense vs. MPG on 12/13, Mark Shurman finally gets ranked in the Indy Power Rankings. He has been on the outside looking in for months along with his “Best Friends” tag team partner, Scotty Slade (the NECW Tag Team Champions), but he finally broke through this week. Shurman has had a fantastic 2013 and if this year has been any indication, 2014 could be even bigger.
Major Names Ineligible this week due to inactivity:
Global Green Gangsters, Daywalkers (as a team), Uhaa Nation, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Rich Swann
Just missing out/Others receiving votes:
La Rosa Negra-On 12/14 she won the Majestic 12 Tournament by defeating Annie Social & Sumie Sukai in tag action, then defeating Grandma Butcher, before finally beating Jessie Kaye and Mia Yim in a 3 Way Match in the Finals. She lost the PWS Bombshells Title in a Best 2 out of 3 Falls Match to Missy Sampson, which ultimately cost her a spot in the top 10 this week.
Young Bucks-Winners of 2 straight, beat Adrenaline RUSH (ACH & TaDarius Thomas) at ROH on 12/14
Scotty Slade-1/2 of the NECW Tag Team Champions and winner of the CW Pandemonium Battle Royal
Rain-SHINE Champion and winner of 6 straight (defeated Amazing Kong on 12/13)
Rob Terry & Jay Bradley-6-0 as a tag team (5-0 in Japan, 1-0 in OVW)
Brian Cage-Retained the FSP Title vs. Joey Ryan
Kimber Lee-Winner of 3 straight, defeated Christina Von Eerie on 12/14
Dalton Castle-NEW IWC World Heavyweight Champion
RJ City-NEW IWC Super Indy Champion
Jamin Olivencia-OVW Heavyweight Champion defeated Marcus Anthony by DQ on 12/11
Lucky tHURTeen-CZW Cage of Death XV Sole Survivor
Chris Dickinson-Impressive win over Davey Richards at CZW on 12/14
Matt Cross-Defeated Tyson Dux at Smash Wrestling on 12/15
Jaysin Strife-Defeated Ryan Kidd at The Last Podcast presents Ring of Hope on 12/13
Joe Gacy-Defeated Andrew Everett, AR Fox, Azrieal, Chuck Taylor, & Tony Nese in 6 Way Scramble at CZW on 12/14
Indy Power Rankings 