#1 John Wayne Murdoch-2017 is off to a hot start for “The Duke of Death Matches” as he gets a #1 ranking in his fourth straight calendar year (having previously been #1 in 2014, 2015, and 2016). Much like last year when his King of the Death Matches win got him to #1, this year he gets in primarily on the strength of a tournament win. On 1/5 he beat Mance Warner in the first round of the IWA Mid-South Title tournament, then beat Derek Neal in Round 2 the same day, and then beat Aaron Williams in the finals to win the vacant title. He defeated JJ Garrett on 1/7 to retain the title to go 4-0 on the week. Looking at the competition he beat, there’s little doubt that he deserved to be in the discussion for #1 after beating some top talents along with winning a tournament for a title AND retaining the title in one week.
#2 Apollo-It was a HUGE week for Australia as the IWA Heavyweight Champion went 6-0 on the week! It was an incredible week for Apollo as he JUST missed out on the #1 ranking this week. He defeated Josh Gatt at IWA on 1/3 (non-title) then defeated Chris Abbott on 1/4 to retain the title, then defeated Randall on 1/5 (non-title) then defeated Kai Drake (non-title) on 1/6, then defeated Rip Reilly, and then defeated Keegan Brettle on 1/8. It would have been helpful if he had gotten some fan votes in the online voting competition, but as it stands, he sits at a very impressive #2 this week after SIX big wins Down Under.
#3 Zodiak (@ZodiaksFlame)-Love him or hate him, “The Monster” Zodiak has begun 2017 in a dominating fashion as he is heart punching everyone that gets in his way. ½ of the WCWO Tag Team Champions beat Heinz, Ace Austin, Bret Havoc, Ray Waddell & Jordan James in a 6 man scramble at IWA Mid-South on 1/5, then defeated Anthony Toatele at Emerge on 1/7 in the first round, then defeated Donny Idol in the semifinals and then Apollo Q Starr in the final to win the tournament for the vacant Emerge Title to go 4-0 for the week. Zodiak really picked up a ton of momentum in 2016 (especially in tags) but now he’s really blazing a trail for himself in singles as he’s leaving bodies in his wake. He was also #4 in the online voting competition this week with 23 votes.
#4 Daisuke Masaoka-Daisuke Masaoka almost completely swept the #4 ranking in the official voters’ ballots this week after the King of FREEDOM World Champion defeated Kenji Fukimoto at FREEDOMS on 1/3 in the first round of the Damz Hajime 2017 New Year Lottery One Day Tournament, then defeated Chikara in the second round, then defeated Toru Sugiura in the semifinals, and then defeated Yuya Susumu in the final to win the tournament to go 4-0 for the week. It would have been ridiculous to deny Masaoka a high ranking this week after such a big tournament victory.
#5 Dave Crist (@DaveCristOi4K)-If you look at Dave Crist’s performance at the WWN Style Battle alone, he’d the sure fire #1 this week, but he had a busy week chalk full of SEVEN matches. He defeated Clayton Jackson at Rockstar Pro on 1/4; then teamed with Jake Crist & Sami Callihan at IWA Mid-South on 1/5 to lose a three-way match to Jake Parnell, Johnathan Wolf & Myron Reed, then lost a Rockstar Pro title match to Zachary Wentz on 1/6, then defeated Darby Allin at WWN Style Battle on 1/7 in the quarterfinals, then defeated Dezmond Xavier in the semifinals, then defeated AR Fox in the final to win the tournament, and then teamed with Sami Callihan, AR Fox and Darby Allin at Full Impact Pro to defeat Jason Kincaid, Dezmond Xavier, Jason Cade, and Sammy Guevara and go 5-2 for the week. Despite two losses, the strength of Crist’s victories were enough to catapult him into the #5 spot this week. Keep an eye on him this year as his debut in PWG is upcoming along with many, many HUGE matches for him and his OI4K stablemates.
#6 People’s Champ. Alex Titan (@alextitanx)-A 6-0 week for Alex Titan gets him a hell of a ranking AND the People’s Champ award this week to add to the accomplishments of the crew from Down Under. He defeated Syd Parker at International Wrestling Australia on 1/3, then defeated Kai Drake on ¼, then defeated Paris de Silva on 1/5, then defeated Randal on 1/6, then defeated JL Gold on 1/7, and then defeated Kai Drake on 1/8 to finish his flawless week. It was neck and neck between him and Shay Crusher for this week’s People’s Champ award but in the end, Alex Titan won out with 64 votes to 54, which also springboarded him into this spot at #6. Give him a follow on Instagram at @alextitanx and a like on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/alextitanx
#7 Cody Rhodes
#8 Zachary Wentz
#9 Kongo Kong
#10 Jake Parnell-#3 in the online voting competition with 25 votes
Others missing out/receiving votes:
Keegan Brettle
Shay Crusher-#2 in the online voting competition with 56 votes
David Starr
Grimey Kantrell
ACH
Kouki Iwasaki
Joey Venom
Aaron Williams
KUDO
Big Bad John
Joe Hendry
Marty Scurll
You can listen to the Indy Power Rankings Reveal/Carolina Corner with scheduled guests Jake Crist, Dave Crist, and JT Davidson here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2017/01/11/indy-power-rankings-reveal-the1andonlyjer-carolinacorner-w-thejakecrist
You can listen to the Tag Team Top 5 Reveal on Filling the Void here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fillingthevoidpn/2017/01/12/ipr-tag-team-top-5-reveal
Check out the 2016 IPR 100-Night One with guests, Eddie Kingston, Joe Gacy, Deonna Purrazzo, and James Anthony here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/12/28/indy-power-rankings-2016-ipr-100-reveal-night-one
2016 IPR 100-Night Two with guests, Ivelisse, Santana Garrett, John Wayne Murdoch, Joseph Schwartz, AC Riley, David Starr, Cody Deaner, Tyson Dux, Kongo Kong, Anthony Henry, Jason Kincaid, Amazing Maria, and Shane Mercer here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/12/29/indy-power-rankings-2016-ipr-100-night-two
Listen to the 2016 Tag Team Top 50 Reveal with guests Nick Iggy, Mat Fitchett, Davey Vega, Zakk Sawyers, Twisted Sisterz, Bomb Shelter, Indy Card Mafia, and The Ugly Ducklings here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2016/12/28/indy-power-rankings-2016-tag-team-top-50-reveal
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