Indy Power Rankings for the Week of October 6th, 2014

 

 1. Karsten Beck-This one is kind of surprising, but if you dig deeper, you’d see why this was a no-brainer in the end. Karsten Beck, while he has not yet been ranked this year, won a HUGE tournament over the weekend as he won the wXw/CZW/BNJW World Triangle League 2014 and in the process knocked off Axel Dieter Jr., went to a draw with Zack Sabre Jr. (a former #1), defeated Jonathan Gresham, and then finally won the tournament by beating Biff Busick (also a former #1) and Rich Swann in a 3 Way on 10/5. It was an impressive and prestigious victory as he becomes the first German-born wrestler to get ranked #1. #9 in the online poll.

 

2. People’s Champ. Josef Von Schmidt (@JosefVonSchmidt)-The PWA CT International and FSW Heavyweight Champion (and Wrestling on Fire Heavyweight Champion, HWC Undaground Heavyweight Champion, CPW Champion, PWR Champion, XCW Champion, & DD Heavyweight Champion) had another good week. Had it not been for the World Triangle League, it’s very likely he would have been an easy #1 again this week, but circumstances dictated otherwise. That being said, his fans came out in bunches to vote for him this week once again as he secured 213 votes to win the online voting competition and become this week’s People’s Champ.

 

3. Candice LeRae (@CandiceLeRae)-2014 has been a career defining year for Candice as ½ of the World’s Cutest Tag Team has been picking up title over title throughout the year in tag team competition, but this week (after 2 wins in tag team action), she defeated female sensation Ivelisse to win the FWE Women’s Title on 10/4. A 3-0 weekend locks her into the #3 spot this week as she returns to the Top 10 once again. Look for her to place very high in the Tag Team Top 5 along with Joey Ryan after their 2 wins at FWE as well.  

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - October 1st, 2014

TNA Impact Wrestling Review - October 1st, 2014

Last week's gauntlet for the gold was a one match show as MVP and Low Ki started the evening off with a bang, but it went downhill from there. Can TNA rebound from an off week? Thats the question going into tonight's show. So without further a due, let's get into my review of the October 1st, 2014 edition of TNA Impact.

1) Samoa Joe (c) vs. Austin Aries - X Divsion Title Match
I was pretty pumped for this bout considering these two are fantastic wrestlers and they didn't disappoint. There was a good bit of technical/submission wrestling here although the bout was very hard hitting as well with alot of chops and kicks. Joe and Aries always work well together and this was no different. A very competitive battle between two X Divsion legends. Great opening match.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) EC3 vs. Eric Young
The storyline involving EC3 and Spud has been pretty entertaining, but unfortunately this match with EY wasn't anything special. Maybe I just had too high expectations because of how good both EY and EC3 are, but I felt this bout should have went longer.

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 29th, 2014

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 29th, 2014 

1. Josef Von Schmidt (@JosefVonSchmidt)-The PWA CT International Champion (and Wrestling on Fire Heavyweight Champion, FSW Heavyweight Champion, HWC Undaground Heavyweight Champion, CPW Champion, PWR Champion, XCW Champion, & DD Heavyweight Champion) defeated AR Fox on 9/26 to retain the title and then defeated Abyss by countout on 9/27 to once again retain the title. As if his list of titles wasn’t enough, he added one more this week by grabbing his first ever #1 ranking. In all honestly, when he got ranked last year for the first time, he was a virtual unknown to many of the Indy Power Rankings’ official voters. Now…he’s at the top of the mountain. Congrats to the title collector himself, JVS! #5 in the online poll with 43 votes

 

2. Shynron (@Dragon_Shynron)-Robbed again? After another stellar weekend where he defended and retained the Chile Lucha Libre Title, he once again comes close to scoring his first #1 ranking, but instead he gets a very high ranking for the 2^nd straight week, but not quite a #1. In fact, he just BARELY snuck into the #2 spot over Yamamoto this week. The talent is there, no doubt. The question now is whether last week’s People’s Champion can continue this roll he’s on and carry it over into his first ever #1 ranking. It’s been a fun run for this great talent.

 

3. Yamamoto (@YoshiTatsulsm)-Another top talent. Another consistent name over the last couple of months. While he didn’t quite get the top spot, he once again gets a very good ranking (his highest yet) after adding yet another title to his collection. He is now the Florida Heavyweight Champion, The Southern Heavyweight Champion, and now the RIOT PRO Champion after defeating Rhett Giddins for the title over the weekend. Look for a quick interview with him on our YouTube Channel (“indy pr”) thanking fans for the support. Big props to Zack Ryder for shooting out the voting link in support of Yamamoto! #3 in the online poll with 69 votes.

Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of September 22nd, 2014

 

 

 1.       Devastation Corporation (Blaster McMassive, Flex Rumblecrunch, & Max Smashmaster @DevastationCorp)-Was there really any other legitimate option at #1 this week? While this is a 3 Man Team, they are NOT the first 3 Man Team to be ranked #1, however that may have been the only factor keeping them from sweeping the official voters this week. That being said, it’s hard to argue that the CHIKARA King of Trios 2014 didn’t deserve the #1 spot this week after knocking off Old Fashioned, Team UK, 3peck0, and Icarus & The Throwbacks in one single weekend. This is their first #1 and a very well-deserved/earned one at that. Congrats on hitting the pay window! #2 in the online poll.

2.       Juicy Product (JT Dunn @TheJuiceee & David Starr @TheProductDS)-It took the King of Trios to dethrone the former 8 time #1’s from the top spot this week, but it’s not like they didn’t continue their hot streak in the process. On 9/19 they retained the NYWC Tag Team Titles vs. Reckless and Wasted to run their 2 week record to 3-0. Pretty impressive stuff, not to mention the fact that they’re STILL FIP, CZW, WSU, and of course NYWC Tag Team Champions. On top of that, they’re still “over as fuck.” With a big weekend coming up, we’ll see if they can return to the #1 spot atop the Tag Team Top 5. 

 

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 22nd, 2014

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 22nd, 2014

                       

1.       Zack Sabre Jr. (@zacksabrejr)-Last week we had our first ever female in the #1 spot in Christina Von Eerie…this week, we get our first UK talent in the #1 spot in 2014 (Rockstar Spud did it in 2013)! Despite being ranked multiple times in 2014, Sabre has yet to grab the elusive #1 spot. This week, most of the official voters had to give a nod of the hat to him after he won the UK Super 8 Tournament after beating Marty Schurll, Dave Mastiff, and Will Ospreay. There were a few detractors though, as he did lose a tag team match to the London Riots, but the strength of his tournament victory was enough to put him over the top when no one was particularly DOMINANT as has been the case with a few other weeks. One of the UK’s top talents no doubt deserves this top ranking! #6 in the online poll.

 

2.       Ricochet (@KingRicochet)-When we go a week without mentioning his name in the Top 10, it’s pretty bizarre, but after his success over the weekend, he’s back again! The 8 time former #1, current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion, and HOG Champion retained the HOG title vs. Smiley on 9/19 and then followed that up with a 6 Man Elimination Match win at XWA vs. some of the top talent on the East Coast. This ranking combined with his many other rankings in the past year, just solidify his spot at #1 in the IPR 100 for 2014. The year’s not over yet, however, so the question remains…can he hang on to the #1 spot when the year ends? Time will tell.

 

Directionless: My Thoughts on the Current WWE Product

Directionless: My Rant on the Current WWE Product

For the past month, WWE has been producing lackluster shows. And before that, things weren't all that great either. I'd even go out on a limb and say that 2014 has been a horrible year for WWE. Sure, there's been some great matches here and there along with some moments to remember, but look at this year as a whole so far and you can't tell me it's been good.

WrestleMania felt like the start of something big after a disastrous first quarter. Unfortunately, the man that made the product worth watching again, Daniel Bryan got injured and was forced to surrender his title. Soon after that, Bad News Barrett got hurt in the midst of his push as well. The absence of Bryan, Barrett, and recent retiree CM Punk may have something to do with how lackluster things have been as of late, but in all honesty, it shouldn't have ANYTHING to do with how good the product is.

ROH TV Review - Death Before Dishonor XII Night 1 Highlights - September 21st, 2014

ROH TV Review - September 21st, 2014

The show opens with a solid promo from Christopher Daniels & Kazarian talking about addictions. I thought this was great because I was wondering how/why Daniels & Kaz chose "The Addiction" as their new name and this promo gave us some insight on that. The crux of it is that the people in the crowd are the addicts and Daniels & Kaz are The Addiction.

1) The Addiction (Christopher Daniels & Kazarian) vs. The Kingdom (Adam Cole & Mike Bennett)
The first thing I'd like to touch on is how fantastic The Kingdom is. I wasn't a big fan of Michael Bennett, but after his tag match w/Matt Hardy vs The Briscoes at Best In The World, I'm sold on him. He's a perfect fit with Adam Cole as they are both fantastic heel characters which makes for an awesome stable. They put in a solid performance here in the ring, although The Addiction was the highlight of this match for me as they continue to prove that they deserve to be back in ROH. Great tag match.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Michael Elgin (c) vs. Silas Young - ROH World Title Match