#1 Vinnie Damouchi (@VinnieDamoochie) & Eddie Brown (@NiteStic)-For the first official Tag Team Top 5 of 2016 we get a team that really came out of nowhere to get not only their first #1, but their first ranking, in general. Vinnie Damouchi & Eddie Brown went into the PWF Premier Tag League 2015 looking to win not only the tournament but the PWF Unified Tag Team Titles as well. They did just that as they defeated Victor Andrews & Zane Riley in the First Round, then Jagger & Sean Denny by DQ in the Second Round, and then The Ciceros (Jack & Jimmy Cicero) in the Finals (all on 12/27) to walk away with the tournament win, the titles, and the #1 ranking. While it may sound daunting right now, if the 2016 Tag Team Top 50 were to hit TODAY, this team would be #1, so that certainly bodes well for the rest of the year as they can do nothing but continue to build on this ranking if they can continue this success.
#2 Magatsuki (Tank Nagai & Yuki Sato)-We get another new team to the Tag Team Top 5 as 2016 kicks off as Magatsuki earned their way in after winning the K-Survivor tournament at K-Dojo on 12/27. They defeated Yutaka Yoshie and Masao Inoue in the early show at K-Dojo on 12/27, then at the late show they teamed with Kengo Mashimo and Yuma to defeat Team 69 Roll (TAKA Michinoku, Ricky Fuji & Hi69) in the semifinals and Sekitoba (Hiro Tonai, Taishi Takizawa, Kotaro Yoshino & Yoshihiro Horaguchi) in the finals to win the K-Survivor Tournament to go 3-0 for the week. With 5 straight victories as a team, we should expect to see them pop up again in the upcoming weeks and months.
#3 Monster Express (Akira Tozawa & T-Hawk)- Tozawa & T-Hawk represent the dominant Monster Express stable well in the first ranking of 2016. As you may have heard on the Tag Team Top 50 Reveal, Monster Express truly was THE faction in all of independent wrestling in 2015. Will that continue in 2016? We shall see. This duo (who are 2/3rds of Open the Triangle Gate Champions) defeated CIMA and El Lindaman at Dragon Gate on 12/23 and then teamed with Masato Yoshino on 12/27 to defeat Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid and Big R Shimizu); VerserK (Mondai Ryu, Cyber Kong and Naoki Tanizaki) and Jimmyz (Ryo “Jimmy” Saito, Jimmy Susumu and Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) in a four-way elimination match to retain the titles to go 2-0 for the week.
#4 The Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter @BeardedBullys)-It’s more of the same from The Hooligans from Brutalsville, U.S.A. as their AAW Tag Team Title defense (combined with being such a dominant team over the last few years) earned them a ranking in the first Tag Team Top 5 of 2016. The AAW (and FIP) Tag Team Champions defeated Markus Crane & Shane Hollister on 12/26 to retain the titles. If you haven’t yet, make sure you give a listen to the Tag Team Top 50 Reveal to find out where they ended up in the 2015 Tag Team Top 50! They were #1 in 2014. Where will they be this year? You can listen here: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=140077&cmd=tc
#5 Arik Royal & Ray Kandrack-It’s the first official ranking for the CWF Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions who have been killing it lately. This past week they defeated Kamakazi Kid & Xsiris on 12/26 to retain the titles. What is particularly impressive about them is that they have won 5 straight matches as a team all the while defending the titles. Not many teams in the Carolinas right now have been as successful recently as them. In 2013 and 2014 we saw Arik Royal in the singles IPR 100’s…will 2016 be the year we see him in the Tag Team Top 50? We’ve got a long year to go, but it’s entirely possible if they can keep this momentum going.
People’s Champs. Elvis Harrison & Orión-It’s a clean sweep for Spain as they not only won the singles online voting competition this week, but also the tag team voting competition! Congratulations to the WWW promotion in Spain as their Tag Team Champions collected 62 votes to EASILY win the People’s Champs award this week. They defeated Project Rangers on 12/26 to retain the titles and get themselves on the ballot. The fans took care of the rest. We hope to see more representation from Spain in 2016 in the rankings!
Just missing out/Others Receiving Votes:
Las Aventureras
Onita, Tanaka, & Hosaka
Second City Collective
Hyper Destroyer
Randi West & American Viking
Britain’s Biggest Tag Team
VerserK
Joe Black & Will Huckaby
Extreme Tiger
Lethal Weapons
Los Compatres Extremos
Los Traumas
Tanaka & Sareee
BUY OUR SHIRTS! Shirts being added all the time at: http://prowrestlingtees.com/indypower
Our Website (where YOU can participate in the weekly online poll voting): https://indypowerrankingsipr.wordpress.com/ Our Facebook page: http://www.Facebook.com/IndyPowerRankings
Also search “Indy Power Rankings” for our open Facebook group where anyone on the indies can promote their various merchandise, fan pages, and upcoming events
Our Twitter: @IndyPowerRankin
Our Instagram: @IndyPowerRankings
Check out our chronicle of the IWA Mid-South blood feud from 2001 with Corporal Robinson & “Mean” Mitch Page to hear the competitors sit down and talk about the historic battles: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/06/05/mitch-page-v-corporal-robinson-the-feud–revisited-hosted-by-phenomenaltld
Listen to Night 1 of the 2015 IPR 100 Reveal on 12/29 here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/12/30/ipr100-2015–night-1-ft-ricochet-ethan-page-dave-mastiff-more
Listen to Night 2 of the 2015 IPR 100 Reveal on 12/30 here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/12/31/ipr100-2015–night-2-ft-santana-garrett-roderick-strong-matt-tremont-more
Listen to Day 1 of the 2015 Tag Team Top 50 Reveal on 12/29 here: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=140077&cmd=tc
Listen to Day 2 of the 2015 Tag Team Top 50 Reveal on 12/30 here: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=140077&cmd=tc
Indy Power Rankings 