Indy Power Rankings for the Week of May 9th, 2016

#1 “Bad Bones” John Klinger (@TheGermanPsycho)-And…for the second straight week we sit here with egg on our face after posting an Instagram Exclusive Spoiler as it appeared that Kaori Yoneyama would be our #1 this week. Despite her INCREDIBLE week, the honor goes to “The Best in Europe” once again as BAD BONES returns to our top spot. The SWE King of Switzerland Champion defeated Kim Ray at wXw in Germany on 5/7, then beat HECTA the same day, then beat Shooter Ray Ray on 5/8, and then beat Kim Ray the same day to go 4-0 for the week. Has Klinger had better weeks? Probably, but going 4-0 with all the wins being singles wins on a week where a lot of wrestlers had multiple wins, really helped to separate Bad Bones from the rest of the pack. Congrats to John Klinger!

#2 Kaori Yoneyama (@kaori_yoneyama)-7-0! What an incredible week for Kaori Yoneyama as she JUST missed out on her first #1 ranking this week. ½ of the Oz Academy Tag Team Champions defeated Alex Lee and Diosa Atenea in a triple threat at Stardom on 5/3; then teamed with DASH Chisako at JWP on 5/4 to defeat Command Bolshoi & Nise Leon, then defeated Yako Fujigasaki the same day, then teamed with Command Bolshoi, DASH Chisako, Hanako Nakamori, Kyoko Kimura & Tsubasa Kuragaki the same day to defeat Arisa Nakajima, KAZUKI, Rydeen Hagane, Syuri, Yako Fujigasaki & Yumiko Hotta, then teamed with DASH; then defeated Hanako Nakamori at JWP on 5/5, then defeated Starlight Kid at Stardom on 5/8, and then defeated Azumi the same night to go 7-0 for the week. The big debate among the official voters (as it often is) was whether her tag wins meant as much as others’ singles wins. In the end, they do count, but on some level they are minimalized in comparison to singles wins. That being said, #2 is still a VERY GOOD first ranking. Like Everett last week, here’s the Instagram Exclusive #1 pic we posted in error:

#3 Kotaro Suzuki-The Wrestle-1 Cruiserweight Champion had as strong of an argument as any of the top vote leaders in the official voting this week. He had a FANTASTIC week as he defeated Kaz Hayashi at Wrestle-1 on 5/4 to retain the title, then defeated Mark Haskins at 4FW in the UK on 5/7 to retain the Wrestle-1 title again, and then defeated Ultimo Tiger at PWP on 5/8 to retain again go 3-0 for the week. Very impressive week for a name we have seen pop up time and time again in the Indy Power Rankings. With him now having toured the UK…could a U.S. stop be next for Suzuki?

#4 Ayatu Yoshida-As it often does, you can tell that Japan played a big part in the Indy Power Rankings this week with 3 of the top 4 ranks being from The Land of the Rising Sun. Yoshida was just as impressive as the others as he defeated Rekka at K-Dojo on 5/3, then defeated GO Asakawa on 5/4, then defeated Kyu Mogami on 5/5 to win the K-Metal League, and then defeated GO Asakawa on 5/8 to go 4-0 for the week. This is a name you haven’t seen in the Top 10 yet, but give it some time and you may see this name more and more if he can continue to win at this rate as the months roll on.

#5 Samantha Starr (https://www.facebook.com/3GSamanthaStarr)-Last week it was David Starr in the #5 spot and this week…it’s Samantha Starr. This third generation professional wrestler gets her first ranking this week as she won the VOW Queen of the Ring Tournament. This was the same tournament that got Mary Elizabeth Monroe aka Kelly Klein a high ranking last year. The VOW Vixens Champion defeated Madi Maxx and Sahara Se7en in a triple threat quarterfinal on 5/6 to retain her title, then defeated Derek Direction by DQ in the semifinals and retained the title, and then defeated Terra Calaway in the final to win the 2016 tournament and again retained her title to go 3-0 for the week. With this being her first ranking, we can only hope to see more of her like we did MEM last year after her victory in the tournament.

#6 KAI-The NEW Wrestle-1 Champion also has a great argument for #1 this week as he defeated Yuji Hino at Wrestle-1 on 5/4 to win the title, then beat Gosaku Goshogawara at Guts World on 5/8, and then teamed with Mitomi Masayuki at Wrestle-1 the same day to defeat Minoru Tanaka and Kohei Fujimura to go 3-0 for the week. The title win was big but ultimately only having two singles wins on a week where so many wrestlers had so many wins was costly. KAI is still nothing less than dominant though.

#7 Joey Ozbourne (@TheJoeyOzbourne)-3-0 week for Joey Ozbourne has he gets his first ranking this week. On 5/6 he defeated Flex Buffington at HOPE, then beat Jody Fleisch on 5/7, and then beat Chuck Cyrus on 5/8. This British talent from Suffolk, England had one hell of a week with the only thing lacking being a title defense or win. Had he won or defended a title, there’s no doubt that his ranking would have been even higher. Keep an eye on him to possibly pick up some gold before the end of 2016 and perhaps, another ranking or two.

#8 Johnny Gargano (@JohnnyGargano)-We really weren’t sure if we’d see Gargano in the Top 10 due to his ties with NXT/WWE, but he continued with another strong weekend on the indies as he beat Marty Scurll at EVOLVE on 5/6 and then beat Drew Galloway on 5/7 by DQ to go 2-0 for the week. The Marty Scurll win was big and of course beating Galloway (in any way) is still an important victory. Every time we count Gargano out and think it may be his last week in the Indy Power Rankings, he pops right up again. We continue to hope for more big things from “The Whole Shebang” where ever he goes.

#9 Mondai Ryu-Dragon Gate gets more representation into the Top 10 this week as Mondai Ryu comes away with a #9 ranking after a 4-1 week. He defeated Jimmy Kanda at Dragon Gate on 5/2, then defeated Kaito Ishida on 5/3, then defeated U-T on 5/4; then lost an Open the Brave Gate title match to Yosuke (loves) Santa Maria on 5/5, and then defeated Kaito Ishida on 5/8 to go 4-1 for the week. While winning the title would have been nice, going 4-1 and getting a ranking in the Top 10 will have to suffice as a consolation prize for now.

#10 Matt Riddle (@riddletuf7)-STRONG weekend again for Matt Riddle as he picked up two quality wins at EVOLVE. First, he defeated Anthony Nese at EVOLVE on 5/6 and then beat Lio Rush on 5/7 to go 2-0 on the week. Both wins were pretty impressive victories which in all honesty should have earned him a higher ranking. He was slightly lost in the shuffle this week due to the abundance of competitors with 3 or more wins making it difficult to sort out who should and shouldn’t be in the Top 10. Never easy, but Riddle does get SOME respect for what he did with a ranking whereas A LOT of great talents missed out this week.

People’s Champ. Bojack-The Undisputed IPW South Pacific and Cruiserweight Champion gets himself a VERY impressive People’s Champ award this week after defeating Reaper and Rob Daniels in a Triple Threat Match to win the title on 5/7. With 204 votes, he absolutely destroyed the other challengers in the online voting competition this week. Give a like on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Bojack-Impact-Pro-Wrestling-Australia-1622866054595995/

Others missing out/receiving votes:

Daisuke Sasaki

Sami Callihan

Frank Wyatt

Andd Bivians-#2 in the online voting competition with 43 votes

Kyuri

John Campbell-#3 in the online voting competition with 38 votes

Appollo Starr-#4 in the online voting competition with 25 votes

Jeremiah Plunkett-#5 in the online voting competition with 19 votes

BT Gunn

Ric Caurdiea

Dynamite Dillen

Drew Gulak

James Drake

Will Roberts

Devin Lockhart

Jodi Kristofferson

Marek Brave

Sami Sahin

Thomas Walton III

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Check out the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal as we’re talking IWA Mid-South’s next HUGE show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/

Listen to Night 1 of the 2015 IPR 100 Reveal 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 here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/12/31/ipr100-2015–night-2-ft-santana-garrett-roderick-strong-matt-tremont-more

Listen to the 2015 Tag Team Top 50 Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/01/01/indy-power-rankings-2015-tagteamtop50-reveal

Who should be #1 in the Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of 5/9/16?

Who we are and how the final vote is tallied: http://wp.me/P4kQ6t-1​Winner of the online voting competition are “People Champs” for the week AND helps their overall ranking! 
There is no award for second place but all votes that come in add to the tag team’s final ranking so vote away!Winner of the online voting competition will have their social media, merchandise, upcoming events, etc…promoted by us for a full week! 
Voting ends at 10 PM EST! 5/10
Listen to the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal as we’ve lined up a big IWA Mid-South Hype Central here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/

Who should be #1 in the Indy Power Rankings for the Week of 5/9/16?

 Who we are and how the final vote is tallied: http://wp.me/P4kQ6t-1&#x200b​Winner of the online voting competition is “People Champ” for the week AND helps their overall ranking! There is no award for second place but all votes that come in add to the wrestler’s final ranking so vote away!Winner of the online voting competition will have his/her social media, merchandise, upcoming events, etc…promoted by us for a full week!
Why The Online Voting Competition/People’s Champ(s) Award Matters http://wp.me/p4kQ6t-1cw
Voting ends at 10 PM EST! 5/9
Listen to the Indy Power Rankings Reveal  with a big PWF Hype Central on 5/10 at 9 PM EST here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/

Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of May 2nd, 2016

#1 The (Amazing) Graysons (JP Grayson & Tommy Grayson)-Some debate was had over who should be #1 this week, but in the end, The Amazing Graysons were easily voted into the #1 spot. This continues the trend in 2016 where we have “new” teams being ranked #1 who have never been ranked before in our rankings. This team had one hell of a weekend as they became the NEW LAW Tag Team Champions when they defeated Keita Murray and Johnny Moran at Sanctuary on 4/29, then defeated Indy Card Mafia the same night, and then (as the Amazing Graysons) defeated Team Shazam and The Savages in a triple threat at LAW on 5/1 to win the titles to go 3-0 for the week. This is a team that you might want to look out for in 2016 as it appears that they could have a ton of momentum on their side. They were also #3 in the online voting competition with 23 votes. Like their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/The-Amazing-Graysons-877705978984668/

 

 

#2 People’s Champs. Dojo Boys (Adam Grace & Colin Brooks @TheColinBrooks)-Here’s another tag team that has quietly been toiling away with success, but they finally get the credit they deserve in the Tag Team Top 5. To be fair, their fans helped them get where they’re at as winning the online voting competition actually pushed them from #3 in the rankings to #2! Again, THE FAN VOTE MATTERS. They won TWO sets of tag team titles over the weekend as they defeated Jason Allen & Butchie Davis on 4/29 to win the RCCW Tag Team Titles and then defeated Mario Andrew Crivello & Angel Armoni to win the ICW Tag Team Titles. A 2-0 week and 225 votes helped them win the online voting competition by a ONE HUNDRED vote margin over the Indy Card Mafia (who gathered an impressive 125 votes themselves). Give them a like on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/DojoBoys  

 

#3 The Alliance (Michael Shard & Jon Magnus)-We’ve got another new tag team to the Tag Team Top 5 as this duo won the Toga Steve Memorial Tournament at PWA on 4/30. In Round One they defeated Derek Moss & Guy Smith, then beat Roscoe & Jake Lander in Round Two, and then beat The Hot Boyz in the Finals to win the tournament with a 3-0 record. The 3rd Annual Tournament hosted by Pinfall Wrestling Association may not have the “big names” in the tournament, but it played a big part in the rankings on a week where several teams had decent weeks but none of the usual heavy-hitters did anything spectacular. Congrats to the Alliance on a big win and a big ranking!

 

 

#4 Monster Express (Akira Tozawa & Masato Yoshino)-Dragon Gate once again shines in the Tag Team Top 5 as Tozawa & Yoshino continued their success as a team over the weekend. Monster Express, in general, have been very dominant over the last few years (although not quite as dominant as a whole in 2016). This pairing has been particularly spectacular together. 2/3 of the Open the Triangle Gate Champions teamed with T-Hawk at Dragon Gate on 4/25 to defeat Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy K-ness JKS and Jimmy Kanda) then teamed with Big R Shimizu on 4/26 to defeat Over Generation (CIMA, Eita and Kaito Ishida) then teamed with T-Hawk on 4/30 to defeat CIMA, Dragon Kid and Takehiro Yamamura and then teamed with T-Hawk on 5/1 to defeat Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kanda) to go 4-0 for the week. You may wonder why a team who went 4-0 is only ranked #4 this week. The official voters felt that their wins (while not bad by any means) were not the most meaningful wins and they also had a lack of straight-up, two on two tag team wins. Perhaps that will change in the next voting cycle.

 

 

#5 Team Single (Rampage Brown & T-Bone)-Despite only having one win over the weekend (compared to other teams who had multiple wins) this team had arguably the most IMPRESSIVE victory of the week. The PCW Tag Team Champions defeated War Machine (Ray Rowe & Hanson) on 4/30 to retain the titles to secure their spot in the Tag Team Top 5 this week. This is actually their first ranking since 2014 as a team, which is surprising because they hold one of the top sets of tag team gold in Europe. If they can continue to win big matches like the one against War Machine, we’ll be mentioning them more frequently this year.

 

 

 

Just missing out/Others Receiving Votes:

Jimmyz

Indy Card Mafia (Thomas Brewington & Eric Emanon)-#2 in the online voting competition with 125 votes

Yankee Two Kenju

Beauty & The Beast

The Midwest Monsters-Tied for #3 in the online voting competition with 23 votes

The Carnies

La Revolucion

Crusade for Change (TJ Marconi & Stockade)

Los Ninja Turtles  

 

 

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

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Check out the Indy Power Rankings Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/

Check out the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal with Ethan Case here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/05/05/indy-power-rankings-tag-team-top-5-reveal-ft-ethancaseclosed

Listen to Night 1 of the 2015 IPR 100 Reveal 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 here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/12/31/ipr100-2015–night-2-ft-santana-garrett-roderick-strong-matt-tremont-more

Listen to the 2015 Tag Team Top 50 Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/01/01/indy-power-rankings-2015-tagteamtop50-reveal

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of May 2nd, 2016

#1 Kimber Lee (@Kimber_Lee90)-Let this week be a lesson to us to not count someone out until ALL votes have been counted. We generally post an “Exclusive Spoiler” on our Instagram account. This week we posted Andrew Everett as our #1 when it looked like he had locked it up. Some of the official voters got their ballots in late (before our deadline) and it became a tie. When the fan vote was factored in, Kimber Lee became #1 in the Indy Power Rankings once again. This was proof yet again that the fan vote MATTERS. The CHIKARA Grand Champion and ½ of the SHIMMER Tag Team Champions started the week right when she beat Clockwork Katred at Blitzkrieg on 4/29 and then added to her title collection when she beat Annie Social at JAPW on 4/30 to win the vacant JAPW Women’s Title. A 2-0 record, a new title, and a decent amount of fan support in the online voting competition gets her another #1 ranking this week. If Santana Garrett was the unofficial Queen of the Indy Power Rankings for 2015, could Kimber Lee be the Queen for 2016?
 
#2 Andrew Everett (@_andreweverett)-One of the best high-flyers in the world gets as close as you can possibly get without getting a #1 ranking. Hell, we thought he WAS #1 as of 10:30 PM EST on 5/2/16. That being said, Everett still had a great week despite missing out on the top spot. The SWE Speed King Champion has been tearing it up in Europe and last week was no different as he defeated Jody Fleisch at SWE on 4/30 to retain the title, then teamed with Tyler Bate the same day to defeat The Second City Collective (Pete & Damian Dunne) and then defeated Mark Andrews on 5/1 to go 3-0 for the week. His argument for #1 was strong, but it was the title WIN for Kimber Lee that ultimately edged Everett out (along with the fan vote). For history’s sake, we’ve included the picture we shared on Instagram last night, as Everett mostly certainly STILL deserves a ton of recognition for his week in the UK. 

 
#3 Mayu Iwatani-The NEO High Speed Champion and 1/3 of the Artists and Goddesses of Stardom Champions had a GREAT week in Japan as she defeated Hiromi Mimura in the First Round of the Cinderella Tournament 2016, then beat Queen Maya, and then defeated Hiroyo Matsumoto in the Finals to win the tournament. A 3-0 week nets her the very first ranking she’s ever had. She’s been mentioned 5 times (twice this year and three times in 2015) without cracking the Top 10, but she finally gets into the Indy Power Rankings after one hell of a week where she had as much of an argument for #1 as anyone.
 
#4 Aja Perera (@SuperPerera)-The pizza eatin’, joke tellin’, cape wearin’ international pro wrestler gets ranked AGAIN this week after another tournament victory over the weekend. The TWE Women’s Champion and NEW WWA4 Women’s Champion continues to impress as she defeated Owen Knight, De Atlien, and Dementia D’Rose in a four-way in the semifinals at WWA4 on 4/28 for the vacant WWA4 Women’s Title and then defeated Kiera Hogan, Kayla Lynn, and The Duchess in a four-way final the same night to win the vacant title. She then defeated Tragedy at APW on 4/30 to go 3-0 for the week. This is her second #4 ranking this year, so absolutely look out for her to make an impact in the IPR 100 at the end of the year.
 
#5 David Starr (@TheProductDS)-“The Product” is back and once again forcing people to “look at it” as the PPW Heavyweight Champion defeated Chris Dickinson at FBW on 4/29 and then beat Caleb Konley at Legacy on 4/30 to go 2-0 for the week. When you beat two of the top names on the indies, you get this type of a ranking. The only thing that really held him back from a higher ranking was the fact that he didn’t have what some of the others above him had in terms of “new” titles, tournament wins, etc… but you can believe that Starr is on the path to even bigger things this year.
 
#6 Zack Sabre Jr. (@zacksabrejr)-When you look at the voting breakdown you’ll see that ZSJ is the only wrestler on the list with a “down” arrow in terms of his ranking trend. That’s because he actually fell three spots from his #3 ranking last week. Regardless, ZSJ gets ranked YET AGAIN this week as the PWG World Champion and Revolution Pro British Champion defeated Tyler Bate at Kamikaze on 3/29, then defeated Mark Andrews at SWE on 4/30, then lost to Joseph Conners the same day, and then defeated Big Damo at RPW on 5/1 to retain the title to go 3-1 for the week. The odds on favorite for #1 in this year’s IPR 100 just continues to pick up wins where ever he goes and whether he’s ranked 1, 2, 3, 4, or somewhere below that, he just keeps getting himself ranked.
 
#7 Joseph Conners-One big reason why Joseph Conners was included this week is because he was one of the few people to have defeated Zack Sabre Jr. recently. That in itself is a big accomplishment. Combine that with a 3-1 record for the week and you see why he cracked the Top 10 this week. The SWE Heavyweight Champion defeated El Ligero on 4/30 to retain the title, then defeated Zack Sabre Jr (non-title) the same day, then lost to Jon Ryan by DQ at IPW:UK on 5/1, and then defeated Chris Tyler the same day at SWE in a non-title match to go 3-1 for the week. Give props to Conners on a hellacious, but successful week.
 
#8 Mike Verna (@manofsteelmv)-The NEW FBW Heavyweight Champion gets his first ranking this week after having been mentioned once previously in 2016 and once in 2015. He first beat Talon in a Loser Leaves Town Match and then followed that up with a HUGE win as he defeated Brian Myers, Anthony Gangone, and Eddie Kingston in a Four-Way to win the title. A 2-0 record and a brand new title around his waist gets him a solid ranking on a week where many, many talents had arguments for a spot in the Top 10. He also collected 29 fan votes to come #3 in the online voting competition, which most definitely didn’t hurt his cause to get into the Indy Power Rankings for the first time.
 
#9 Reed Bentley (@TheReedBentley)-Reed “By God” Bentley is now a THREE time IWA Mid-South World Champion after dethroning “Da Monsta” Kongo Kong on Sunday, May 1st. Despite some help, Bentley gets the title and will head into May 13th as the champion as he’ll defend against John Wayne Murdoch in a renewal of their feud. This is Reed’s first ranking since January 11th, 2016 when he won the online voting competition and received a #5 ranking in the official Top 10. If he can add some consistency to the IWA World Title, he’s going to be a common name in the Top 10. If not, it may be tough for him to get back into the rankings.
 
#10 Chase Owens (@realchaseowens)-The former NWA Junior Champion gets back into the Top 10 despite a flawless week on the indies. Name value and fan voting went a long way this week for Chase Owens as he gets the #10 ranking with a 2-1 record. He defeated Jason Kincaid on 4/29 to continue their rivalry, then beat Brett Ison on 4/30, and then lost a hard-fought battle to Hy Zaya on 5/1 to wrap up the weekend. In terms of wins and losses on the indies, Chase Owens has really returned to form in 2016. Look out for him to continue his hot streak as 2016 rolls on. He was #4 in the online voting competition with 23 votes this week.
 
People’s Champ. Black Leopard-Israel wins the online voting competition again! This is the first win for Israel since August 24th, 2015 when Max Havok won the fan vote. Despite a game effort from AC Riley and his fans, Black Leopard dominated the online voting competition with 274 votes (84 more than Riley) after winning the IWL Title from Max Havok in Israel on 4/25. You can like IWL on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/IsraeliWrestling 

 
Others missing out/receiving votes:

Marty Scurll

Nick Lenders

Trevor Lee

Big Daddy Yum Yum

AC Riley-#2 in the online voting competition with 190 votes

Noam Dar

Sadist

Danny Limelight

Thunder Rosa

Canadian Red Devil

Adam Crowe

Ryuichi Sekine

Jaysin Masters

Ryo Saito

Tyler Colton

El Pandita  

 

 

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 the Indy Power Rankings Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/

Check out the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal with Ethan Case here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/05/05/indy-power-rankings-tag-team-top-5-reveal-ft-ethancaseclosed

Listen to Night 1 of the 2015 IPR 100 Reveal 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 here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/12/31/ipr100-2015–night-2-ft-santana-garrett-roderick-strong-matt-tremont-more

Listen to the 2015 Tag Team Top 50 Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/01/01/indy-power-rankings-2015-tagteamtop50-reveal

Who should be #1 in the Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of 5/2/16?

Who we are and how the final vote is tallied: http://wp.me/P4kQ6t-1​Winner of the online voting competition are “People Champs” for the week AND helps their overall ranking! 

There is no award for second place but all votes that come in add to the tag team’s final ranking so vote away!Winner of the online voting competition will have their social media, merchandise, upcoming events, etc…promoted by us for a full week! 

Voting ends at 10 PM EST! 5/3

Listen to the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal with special guest Ethan Case here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/05/05/indy-power-rankings-tag-team-top-5-reveal-ft-ethancaseclosed

Who should be #1 in the Indy Power Rankings for the Week of 5/2/16?

 Who we are and how the final vote is tallied: http://wp.me/P4kQ6t-1&#x200b​Winner of the online voting competition is “People Champ” for the week AND helps their overall ranking! There is no award for second place but all votes that come in add to the wrestler’s final ranking so vote away!Winner of the online voting competition will have his/her social media, merchandise, upcoming events, etc…promoted by us for a full week!

Why The Online Voting Competition/People’s Champ(s) Award Matters http://wp.me/p4kQ6t-1cw

Voting ends at 10 PM EST! 5/2

Listen to the Indy Power Rankings Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/

Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of April 25th, 2016

#1 Roscoe Eat Lisa (Mikey McFinnegan & Zakk Sawyers @RoscoeEatLisa)-Bark Bark Gator Tits! This tag team finally gets the respect they deserve this week with their first-ever #1 ranking. One of the most unique tag teams on the indies started out a bit slow as they lost to Grits and Gravy at Rockstar Pro on 4/20, but turned it all around as they then defeated Poncho ARP & Brian Valor at SWF on 4/21, then defeated The Dunns and The All Nighters in a triple threat on 4/23 to win the titles at ASW, and then defeated The Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter) and The Viking War Party in a triple threat at Outlaw Wrestling on 4/24 to win those titles to go 3-1 for the week. 4 matches. 2 new sets of titles. Incredible week for REL. They were also #2 in the online voting competition with 63 votes. They swept the #1 spot of the official voters. Check out two of the most hilarious podcasts we ever did with them here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/07/29/indy-power-rankings-tag-team-top-5-reveal-ft-roscoe-eat-lisa and here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/11/25/indy-power-rankings-tag-team-top-5-reveal-ft-roscoe-eat-lisa

 

 

#2 Sumerian Death Squad (Michael Dante & Tommy End)-The current PWH Tag Team Champions and NEW wXw Tag Team Champions get in this week again as they defeated Cerebrus (Ilja Dragunov & Julian Nero) at wXw in Germany on 4/22 to win the titles and then defeated Hot and Spicy (Axel Dieter Jr & Da Mack) on 4/23 to retain the titles. This is their second ranking this year and third mention overall. They got off to a bit of a slow start in 2016 but now appear to be on the right path with both competitors starting to really make some traction in Europe. End has already been to the U.S., but we STILL would love to see this tag team tear it up in North American sometime in the near future.

 

 

#3 War Machine (Raymond Rowe & Hanson)-Rare is the occasion where the ROH World Tag Team Champions team on the indies and when they go 2-0, it’s even more rare that they’re not an automatic #1. That’s how competitive this week really was. War Machine gets their first ranking this year as they won an elimination gauntlet (spread over 3 shows) at PCW on 4/22 and 4/23 vs The UK Hooligans (Roy & Zak Knight), The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) and Fight Club (Kid Fite & Liam Thomson) and then defeated defeated CJ Banks & Tyler Bate at Tidal on 4/24 to go 2-0 for the week. #3 certainly isn’t a BAD ranking by any means, but you can bet that if War Machine continue their run on the indies outside of ROH, they’ll be competing for a #1 ranking in no time.

 

 

#4 Sonny Kiss & Jamie Senegal-The NEW Sanctuary Tag Team Champions get into the Tag Team Top 5 together for the first time this week after winning a tournament for the vacant titles. They defeated D3 & Ace in the first round, then defeated Better Than You (Brian Johnson & Adam Chandler) and then defeated the Graysons in the finals to win the tournament for the titles. This is a team that has been doing some different things on their own throughout the indies, but with them as a unit now, perhaps they can make an even bigger impact as a strong team. They were also #3 in the online voting competition this week with 44 votes collected.

 

 

#5 People’s Champs. The Dreamboats (Ace Andrews & Rex Bacchus @DreamboatDriver)-Let’s first reiterate this point…THE FAN VOTE MATTERS. Because of the strong support from their fans providing 120 votes, this team didn’t just become People’s Champs this week by winning the online voting competition, but they also cracked the Tag Team Top 5 for the very first time. The RIOT and RPW Tag Team Champions defeated TRAGIC City (Barrington Hugdes & Mosi Humphrey) at Ignite on 4/22, then teamed with Chico Adams at EBPW on 4/23 to defeat Gabriel Black, Slade Porter & CT Brown, then defeated Aaron Epic & Slade Porter the same day, and then teamed with Aspyn Rose the same day to lose to Santana Garrett, Aaron Epic & Slade Porter to go 3-1 for the week. Buy their new shirt here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DreamboatSwag?ele=shop_open  

 

 

Just missing out/Others Receiving Votes:

Da Hit Squad

The Chosen Ones

The Cash Masters-#4 in the online voting competition with 22 votes

Team Single

The System-#5 in the online voting competition with 20 votes

Circle of Disrespect

Los Classicos

The Roc City Wrecking Crew  

 

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 the Indy Power Rankings Reveal as we’ve got the 20th Annual ECWA Super 8 Winner, Napalm Bomb on the show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/04/27/indy-power-rankings-reveal-napalm-bomb-live

Check out the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal here: http://tobtr.com/s/8767199

Listen to Night 1 of the 2015 IPR 100 Reveal 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 here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/12/31/ipr100-2015–night-2-ft-santana-garrett-roderick-strong-matt-tremont-more

Listen to the 2015 Tag Team Top 50 Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/01/01/indy-power-rankings-2015-tagteamtop50-reveal

 

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of April 25th, 2016

#1 Bubblegum (@Pipbubblegum)-We can’t really say if this is an upset or not (as he was #1 last year at one point) but it’s definitely a surprise. With ECWA’s Super 8 going on, you would automatically assume the winner would be a top contender for the #1 spot (which he was) but this week, like most of 2016, belonged to the UK. Bubblegum gets his second ever #1 ranking after the JDW, NGW, GenX, and GPW British Champion defeated El Ligero, Liam Lazarus and Martin Kirby at PCW on 4/22 in a four-way, then defeated Lionheart on 4/23, and then defeated Matt Sydal the same night to go 3-0 for the week. His strength of competition was VERY strong this week and that’s what ultimately earned him the #1 on a very, very close week of voting in the official Top 10.
 
#2 Napalm Bomb ( @DNapalmBomb https://www.facebook.com/NapalmBomb )-The winner of the 20th Annual ECWA Super 8 Tournament only gets a #2 ranking in the Indy Power Rankings? Sort that out however you want. Some official voters felt the tournament had lost some prestige while others felt like it still had a rich history to fall back on. Either way, tip your cap to Napalm Bomb who gets his first official ranking this week after winning the tournament. He defeated Danny Inferno in the First Round on 4/23, then Papadon in the next round, and John Skyler in the Finals to go 3-0 to win the tournament. He also collected 21 votes to come in 8th in the online voting competition. You can check him out on the Indy Power Rankings reveal over at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/04/27/indy-power-rankings-reveal-napalm-bomb-live
 
#3 Zack Sabre Jr. (@zacksabrejr)-Up one spot from last week and we see Zack Sabre Jr. in the Top 10 yet again in 2016. While 2015 belonged to Santana Garrett, it appears that ZSJ will continue to own 2016. The PWG World and Revolution Pro British Champion defeated Bobby Gunns at wXw in Germany on 4/22, then beat Marty Scurll on 4/23, and then beat Flash Morgan Webster at PROGRESS on 4/24 to qualify for WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Tournament to go 3-0 for the week. Just for the record, as these qualifying matches are taking places on “independent wrestling” shows, we are including them in our rankings. Sabre was one of THREE leading voter getters in the official voting this week. He was just BARELY edged out for the #2 spot by Napalm Bomb due to fan voting. Again, the FAN VOTE MATTERS.
 
#4 Teddy King (@JoshuaKing992)-Teddy King is a name that you may have seen before on the Indy Power Rankings, but usually it’s one of those things where he’s in the online voting competition, fighting for the People’s Champ award. He’s had some shots at cracking the Top 10 but he finally busts through this week with a huge week. The former WWA Heavyweight Champion defeated Shane Andrews at NWA NSW on 4/22, then beat Derek Neal the same night, and then beat Eric Young at WWA on 4/23 to go 3-0 for the week. If this weekend was any indication, Teddy King is ready to continue to make a splash on the indies. Next up: IWA Mid-South on 5/1. He came in 5th in the online voting competition with 41 votes.
 
#5 Big R Shimizu-Dragon Gate comes strong this week with two representatives in the Top 10 from their promotion. Certainly not the usual suspects either. Shimizu had a great week there as he teamed with Akira Tozawa & T-Hawk at Dragon Gate on 4/18 to defeat VerserK (Cyber Kong, Naruki Doi & Shingo Takagi) then defeated Shun Watanabe on 4/22, then teamed with Akira Tozawa & Shachihoko BOY on 4/23 to defeat VerserK (Shingo Takagi, Naruki Doi and Kotoka) and then defeated Takehiro Yamamura on 4/24 to go 4-0 for the week. Dragon Gate may not be producing quite the amount of rankings as they did last year, but they’re still VERY relevant in our rankings because of the amount of shows they run every single week.
 
#6 Minoru Tanaka-Japan produces more talent in the Top 10 as 1/3 of the UWA World Trios Champions gets in this week. He defeated The W*inger at Freedoms on 4/21, then teamed with Atsushi Maruyama at BJW on 4/23 to defeat Yuji Okabayashi and Daichi Hashimoto, then defeated Daiki Inaba and Shotaro Ashino in a triple threat at Wrestle-1 on 4/24, and then defeated Tatsuhiko Yoshino at Guts World the same day to go 4-0 for the week. Tanaka received SEVEN mentions last year without being ranked, but this is his first actual ranking. Congrats to him.
 
#7 The Saint-The Saint gets his first ranking this week as he won the Portishead Cup Tournament at 4FW on 4/22. He defeated Brandon Thomas in the Semi-Finals and then beat JD Knight in the Finals to win the tournament. He then scored a HUGE win vs. Doug Williams on 4/23 to go 3-0 for the week. He is 1 of 4 wrestlers from the UK who was ranked this week as that country just continues to make waves in 2016. If any one country benefited the most from our reduction in eligible promotions this year, it’s definitely the United Kingdom.
 
#8 Santana Garrett (@SantanaGarrett_)-What an INSANELY busy week for Santana Garrett! The Queen of the Indy Power Rankings returns to the Top 10 this week. Let’s run down some of her accomplishments: Wrestling Superstar Women’s Champion, Wonder of Stardom, Battling Bombshells, OPW, NPW, RIOT Women’s, CWE Vixens Champion, NEW EBPW Women’s Champion and NEW BPW Champion. She defeated Chelsea Durden at EBPW on 4/23 to become inaugural champion, then teamed with Aaron Epic & Slade Porter the same day to beat Aspyn Rose, Ace Andrews & Rex Bacchus, then teamed with Alex Todd the same day to lose to Jesus Rodriguez & Chelsea Durden, then defeated Chelsea Durden the same day to retain the title, then defeated Chasyn Rance at BPW on 4/24, and then won a battle royal the same day to win the vacant title to go 5-1 for the week. To be fair, we got her results a bit late in the day of voting, so it’s possible she could have been ranked even higher this week. Santana just continues the grind as one of the top wrestlers on Planet Earth.
 
#9 T-Hawk-1/3 of the Dragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate Champions returns to the Top 10 this week after a 4-0 week. He teamed with Akira Tozawa and Big R Shimizu at Dragon Gate on 4/18, then defeated Futa Nakamura on 4/22, then defeated Jimmy Kanda on 4/23, and then teamed with Akira Tozawa & Masato Yoshino on 4/24. The only thing that likely held him back from a higher ranking this week is that the majority of his wins were in tags, while many of the others above him in the Top 10 were winning mostly singles matches. That being said, give props to T-Hawk who just continues to win this year.
 
#10 Dave Mastiff (@DaveMastiff)-This mastodon of a man gets his second ranking of 2016 after a solid weekend at PCW. The big man defeated Wolfgang at PCW on 4/22, then defeated Matt Sydal on 4/23, and then defeated Iestyn Rees by DQ the same night to go 3-0 for the week. Last year we talked to him about whether or not PWG was interested in bringing him and unfortunately some issues didn’t work out for them, but we can only hope at some point down the line they can come to an agreement so he can showcase his skills in front of a North American crowd.
 
People’s Champ. Zachary Wentz (@zachary_wentz)-Zachary Wentz is slowly becoming one of the most recognizable names in the Indy Power Rankings this year. Last week he won the Tag Team Voting Competition and this week he wins the Singles Voting Competition yet again. We should note that if you look at the voting link, Everett Cross has more votes than Wentz, but he actually passed him after the 10 PM EST deadline. With 223 votes, the Rockstar Pro American Luchacore Champion is once again People’s Champ after he beat Trey Miguel at Rockstar Pro on 4/20 and then beat Clayton Jackson at IWC on 4/23 to go 2-0 for the week. Give Zachary Wentz a follow on Instagram at @zbangarangg 

 
People’s Champ Runner-Up. Everett Cross-A special shout out to Everett Cross whose fans came through JUST a bit too late in the online voting competition. He barely missed out on the People’s Champ award this week despite a hell of a late effort from his fans and supporters. He is the NEW PWM Dark Arts Champion after he defeated Smiley, Preacher, Hoost Traplash, Steve Off, and Joey Adams on 4/23 to become the inaugural champion.
 
Others missing out/receiving votes:

Rampage Brown

Alpha Female

Big Daddy Walter

Michael Dante

Jacob Ashworth-#3 in the online voting competition with 63 votes

Captaine Pezz-#4 in the online voting competition with 62 votes

Bad Bones

Hayden Price-#6 in the online voting competition with 32 votes

Kris Taylor

Blain Rage-#7 in the online voting competition with 30 votes

John Skyler

Dave Deville

Stallyon

Cerebro Negro

Ryuchi Sekine

Jami Sparx

Jack Gallagher

Danny Sharp

Ric Converse  

 

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 the Indy Power Rankings Reveal as we’ve got the 20th Annual ECWA Super 8 Winner, Napalm Bomb on the show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/04/27/indy-power-rankings-reveal-napalm-bomb-live

Check out the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/

Listen to Night 1 of the 2015 IPR 100 Reveal 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 here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/12/31/ipr100-2015–night-2-ft-santana-garrett-roderick-strong-matt-tremont-more

Listen to the 2015 Tag Team Top 50 Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/01/01/indy-power-rankings-2015-tagteamtop50-reveal

Who should be #1 in the Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of 4/25/16?

Who we are and how the final vote is tallied: http://wp.me/P4kQ6t-1​
Winner of the online voting competition are “People Champs” for the week AND helps their overall ranking! 
There is no award for second place but all votes that come in add to the tag team’s final ranking so vote away!Winner of the online voting competition will have their social media, merchandise, upcoming events, etc…promoted by us for a full week! 
Voting ends at 10 PM EST! 4/26
Listen to the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/