#1 Josh Alexander (@Walking_Weapon)-It was only a year ago that we were talking about the fact that we’d likely never see Josh Alexander in the Top 10 again due to career-ending injury. He has now come back with a vengeance as he won the 2016 JT Lightning Invitational Tournament over the weekend. He beat Johnny Gargano in the first round, then defeated Billy Gunn, BJ Whitmer and Colt Cabana in a four-way semifinal on 5/28, and then defeated Alex Daniels and Raymond Rowe in a three-way final the same day to win the tournament. His lone blemish on his record was when he teamed with Ethan Page at Beyond on 5/29 to lose to EYFBO (Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik) to drop his record to 3-1 for the week. That loss was largely overlooked due to the importance of his prior three wins. Congrats to “The Walking Weapon” on his first #1 ranking!
#2 Gangrel (@gangrel13)-To be honest, this was not a name we expected to pop into the Top 10 at such a high ranking, BUT it’s a welcome sight. The former WWE superstar and current WCWC Pacific Northwest Champion had a bloody good week as he defeated Moonshine Mantell at AWA on 5/25, then defeated Chris Michaels on 5/26, then defeated Damien Wayne on 5/27, and then teamed with WAR (Chase Stevens & Chris Thorn) on 5/28 to defeat Tracy Smothers, Moonshine Mantell, Damien Wayne and Chris Michaels to go 4-0 for the week. 4-0 was tied for the best record for the week in terms of most wins and least losses, so Gangrel absolutely earned his ranking this week and we hope to see this resurgence continue on the indies.
#3 Cody Deaner (@codydeaner)-The former TNA talent gets into the Top 10 for the first time as he went 3-0 for the week. The Crossfire, CW, CCW, MCW Heavyweight, BattleArts Openweight and NEW BCW Can-Am Champion defeated American Patriot at TCW on 5/27, then defeated Jon Bolen at BCW on 5/28 to win the title, and then defeated Tyler Tirva at Crossfire on 5/29 in Canada to retain the title. This 2016 title collector has been quietly on fire in Canada this year and it finally pays off with his first ranking. Congratulations to Cody Deaner on a fantastic week!
#4 Eddie Kingston (@MadKing_ston81)-The Mad King continues to be one of the best on the indies as he gets a ranking this week after a very good week in the UK with CHIKARA. The former Grand Champion teamed with Princess Kimber Lee on 5/27 to defeat The Nightmare Warriors (Hallowicked & Icarus) then defeated Chuck Taylor on 5/28, and then defeated Hermit Crab on 5/29 to go 3-0 for the week. Kingston was on a tear in the UK, possibly establishing himself once again as a top contender for the CHIKARA Grand Championship. Look out for Kingston as the second half of 2016 is approaching.
#5 Jason Kincaid (@GiftKincaid)-What an absolutely INSANE week for “The Gift” as he wrestled NINE matches this past week. The NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion and ½ of the PCW Tag Team Champions went to CWE on 5/24 where he fought Lio Rush to a time limit draw, then on 5/25 teamed with Lio Rush to lose to The Cannon Clan, then on 5/26 lost a triple threat to Lio Rush, then on 5/27 he defeated Lio Rush in the first round, then defeated Tommy Lee Curtis in the semifinals, then defeated Silas Young in the final to win the CWE 2016 Elite 8 tournament, then defeated Lio Rush on 5/28, then defeated Joe Keys on 5/29, then teamed with Anderson Tyson Moore and Lio Rush the same night to defeat Silas Young, Travis Cole & Tyler Colton to go 6-2-1 for the week. Like we said…INSANE. Props to Jason Kincaid on being a true Iron Man on the indies.
#6 Kongo Kong (@RealKongoKong)-“The Monsta” continues his dominance on the indies as the JCW, SSW Heavyweight, and XICW Proving Ground Champion defeated Eric Young at BCW on 5/28 and then beat Justin Sane at Crossfire in Canada on 5/29 to go 2-0 for the week. Kong just continues to crush foes wherever he goes as one of the truly great big men on the indies just keeps showing the entire world how good he really is. The fact that he isn’t on TV every single week is a travesty, but as it stands, we’ll enjoy watching him every chance we get on the indies. He was also #5 in the online voting competition with 45 votes from his fans and supporters this week.
#7 Anderson Tyson Moore-ATM returns to the Top 10 after another good week at CWE in Canada. The CWE Champion defeated Robby Royce on 5/27 to retain the title, then defeated Tyler Colton on 5/28 to retain the title again, then defeated Travis Cole on 5/29 to retain again, and then teamed with Jason Kincaid and Lio Rush the same night to defeat Silas Young, Travis Cole & Tyler Colton to go 4-0 for the week. If you look at some of the talent he defeated you’ll see exactly why he made it into the Indy Power Rankings once again. CWE has some massive tours and ATM is always their centerpiece.
#8 Dave Crist (@OIFK1324)-The younger Crist brother is BACK in the Top 10 once again after a great week in singles in Ohio. The new NOW Heavyweight Champion defeated Dexter at NOW on 5/28, then beat Colt Daniels to win an Elimination Match that also featured Dezmond Xavier, Trey Miguel, Criss Chambers, and Drew Jacobs the same night to win the title to go 2-0 for the week (from the results we have). His fans played a HUGE part in his ranking this week as they came together and collected 71 votes making him #2 in the online voting competition which helped propel him into the #8 spot this week.
#9 Jonny Vandal (@Jvandal1)-This Turkish talent (who has wrestled in over 25 states and multiple countries) gets his first ranking this week after having a solid week in Florida over the weekend. His week started slow as he lost to Teddy Stigma at FIP on 5/27, but he bounced back as he defeated Jay Rios in a quarterfinal at I Believe in Wrestling on 5/28, then defeated Kota Sekifunda in the semifinals, and then defeated Aaron Epic in the final to win the Florida J Cup on 5/28 to go 3-1 for the week. From NXT to #9 in the Indy Power Rankings. What a run Jonny Vandal is on right now.
#10 People’s Champ. Thunder Rosa (@thunderrosa22)-It’s both the first ranking AND the first win in the online voting competition for the very popular Thunder Rosa as the LPW Lady Luck Champion and NEW UIPW Women’s Champion defeated Holidead on 5/27 to retain the LPW Title and then beat Amazona, Cristal, Datura, Lady Lee, and Sage Sin Supreme in a Six-Way at UIPW on 5/28 to win the vacant title to go 2-0 for the week. Her fans really showed their support as she received 100 votes to win this week’s online voting competition which actually pushed her into the #10 spot proving yet AGAIN that the fan vote MATTERS. You can follow Thunder Rosa on Instagram at @thunderrosa22 and you can give her a like on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ThunderRosa22
Others missing out/receiving votes:
Blue Nikita
Dark Fury-#3 in the online voting competition with 52 votes
Donovan Danhausen-#4 in the online voting competition with 48 votes
Richard Delicious
Randi West
OutKast-#6 in the online voting competition with 25 votes
Mark Kage-#7 in the online voting competition with 23 votes
Jonny Storm
Fred Yehi
Yuu Yamagata
Santana Garrett
Sean Carr-Tied for #8 in the online voting competition with 21 votes
Jaden Newman-Tied for #8 in the online voting competition with 21 votes
Ray Waddell-#10 in the online voting competition with 19 votes
Chasyn Rance
Jake Dirden-#9 in the online voting competition with 20 votes
Leon Ikuza
Mike Cobb
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