Indy Power Rankings for the Week of October 27th, 2014

 



1. Jake Crist-1/2 of OI4K becomes one of the first people to have been #1 in the Tag Team Top 5 and #1 in singles (others include Michael Elgin and JT Dunn). It was an amazing week for ½ of one of the best tag teams in the world as he beat Aaron Williams on 10/22 at Rockstar Pro to advance to the Semi-Finals of the 2014 Cicero Cup. He then teamed with brother, Dave, to defeat Alex Colon & Kyle Kraven at Rockstar Pro on 10/25 and then followed that up by beating Matt Taylor to advance to the finals of the tournament where he beat Dustin Rayz. He was head and shoulders above the rest this week and is undoubtedly a VERY worthy recipient of this week’s #1 ranking as he nearly swept all the official voters’ ballots at #1. #4 in the online poll.

2.  Kongo Kong/Osyris (@RealKongoKong)-What’s in a name? Clearly, when it comes to “The Monsta” the answer to that question is: nothing. He has been tearing a path of destruction through the Midwest (and even Canada) in 2014 and after beating Dale Patricks at IWA Mid-South to retain the IWA Mid-South World Title on 10/23, he put that very title on the line as Osyris at PWK vs. Lightning Bolt Johnson on 10/25, where he once again emerged victorious. Is he unstoppable? We certainly can’t answer that question, but what we do know is that he loses (especially in singles) on very rare occasions. This ranking once again pushes him closer to that #1 spot in the IPR 100 with just over 2 months left in the year! #5 in the online poll.  

3. Jay Briscoe (@jaybriscoe84)-Hard to keep the ROH World Champion out of a top spot this week after 2 victories at the ROH TV Tapings on 10/25 in Florida. He and Mark Briscoe defeated The Kingdom of Michael Bennett & Matt Taven and then he followed that up with a singles win vs. QT Marshall.Yes, he does miss out on the #1 ranking again this week but with big title defenses on the horizon, it’s unlikely that will be the case for very long. He has really started to get some momentum going as we march towards the end of 2014. Can he hang onto the ROH World Title and get ranked #1 for the first time in 2014?
 

WWE Hell In A Cell 2014 Preview & Predictions

I haven't done a preview/predictions article for a WWE PPV since Money In The Bank simply because they haven't produced a noteworthy PPV since then. To be completely honest, I didn't expect to be writing one for Hell In A Cell either until WWE produced an episode of Raw this past Monday that featured more intriguing storyline progression than any in recent memory.

For that reason, I'm going to make a bold prediction before we even get into discussing the matches on the card. That prediction is this - Hell In A Cell will be the best PPV of this year.

It's not a hard feat to accomplish because there haven't been many outstanding PPV's in WWE this year. Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania are the only two PPV's that had as much hype going into the show as this Sunday's Hell In A Cell does. That alone puts this one in the running for PPV of the year unless the show completely flops which I don't see happening. The card is extremely well rounded and despite not having a WWE Title match on the show, there are more high profile matches than any other PPV in recent months. You've got the blow off to arguably the feud of the year in Ambrose/Rollins, a decade long rivalry coming to a head with World Title implications in Cena/Orton, a 2/3 Falls Match between the two hardest working in-ring talents on the roster, and a newly intensified battle between Show & Rusev. Those matches combined with the unpredictability of their outcomes makes for a highly anticipated show.

Beyond the aforementioned unpredictability, there are alot of possible angles that could take place at Hell In A Cell. Of course these are all pure speculation, but I've been more interested in WWE this past week than I have been in months so I've come up with a few theories.

The first is probably the most likely based on what happened at the end of Raw this past Monday. I think Randy Orton will emerge from this PPV as an anti-hero babyface. His character took a turn for the better on Raw as he delivered one of the best promos I've heard from him in years during his segment with John Cena. With Rollins turning on him to close Raw, I think we are going to see Orton slowly become a fan favorite again which looks like the perfect thing to do with him right now because it worked extremely well on Monday night. How will Orton solidify this face turn/character change at Hell In A Cell? Find out later in this column.

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of October 20th, 2014

 

1. Kazuchika Okada (@rainmaker_chaos)-The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion gets his 2^nd #1 ranking this week after beating Tetsuya Naito on 10/13 to become the #1 contender to the IWGP Heavyweight Title once again. He was not content to rest on his laurels as he went to the UK and beat Joel Redman on 10/18 at Revolution Pro UK and then defeated Austin Aries (a HUGE win) on 10/19. A 3-0 week and a win over a former TNA and ROH World Champion made him the easy #1 choice this week despite strong competition from a lot of other competitors this week. There were a handful of wrestlers who arguably had a solid shot at #1, but Okada stood tall. Tied for #9 in the online poll.

 

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi (@tanahashi1_100)-The NEW IWGP Heavyweight Champion gets into the Top 10 for the very first time after winning the title from AJ Styles on 10/13. Had he built on that title win with just one or two more matches, it’s likely he’d be sitting in the #1 spot this week. Granted, he still has a strong argument that he should have been #1 this week, but his one (HUGE) win vs. others with multiple big wins made it a little harder for him to get that elusive #1 spot. That being said, he earned his way in this week and we hope to see what the rest of 2014 brings for one of the best wrestlers in the world.

 

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - October 20th, 2014

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - October 20th, 2014

Pre-Show Thoughts:
Last week's episode of Raw was a solid evening of wrestling and a definite improvement from previous weeks. This led me to have expectations for a show ATLEAST as good this week. To be honest, that's all I want. Considering how bad the past month or so has been, I would be content with a show that was on the same level as last week's. Although, WWE still hasn't really sold me on Hell In A Cell so I guess they need to have an outstanding show to persuade me to watch. The rumors of Cena/Orton main eventing with no build infuriated me over the weekend so I'm interested to see if they attempt to make us want to see the match or if they just let them have the main event because of their starpower. There's alot of questions to be answered on this go home show before Hell In A Cell, but they can all be summed up into one main question - Can WWE sell the audience on Hell In A Cell? Let's find out!

The Authority opens the show
Dean Ambrose has opened Raw for the past few weeks so it was a nice change to see The Authority come out to start the show. This was your basic Authority segment as we got some announcements with the biggest being that the Cena/Orton match at HIAC will be a #1 Contender's Match for the WWE Title. I was elated at this announcement because as I mentioned in my pre-show thoughts - we need a reason to care about Cena/Orton and WWE gave us a reason in this opening segment. Now all they need to do is make us want to see it, but I'm not sure they can do that so I'm happy with just that stipulation being added. We also saw some more tension between Randy Orton and Seth Rollins here as they argued over whose match will main event the PPV. All in all, this was a solid opening segment that set the stage for the rest of the show very well.

Segment Rating: B-

1) The Usos & Sheamus vs. Goldust, Stardust, & Damien Sandow/Mizdow

ROH TV Review - October 18th, 2014

ROH TV Review - October 18th, 2014

1) Hanson vs. The Romantic Touch
This was an odd match up from the start. Hanson is a big, powerhouse guy and Romantic Touch is the weirdest character on the ROH roster. Hanson took the fight to Romantic Touch and finished him off pretty quickly. This was a pretty dull opening match aside from Hanson's always impressive agility. I hope Ray Rowe returns soon because he & Hanson are a great tag team. As for this bout, it was just a prolonged squash.

Match rating - *3/4

Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, & Maria Kanellis made their way to the ring for a promo at this point in the show. The main objective of this segment was to note the tension between Cole & Bennett heading into Bennett's World Title Match with Jay Briscoe next week. They did a fantastic job of selling that frustration and we were left with the question of what did Maria tell Adam Cole to calm him down? Good segment.

2) Adam Page vs. Tadarius Thomas - No DQ Match

ECW Match Rating Archive

A list of all the ECW matches I've reviewed along with the rating that I gave them.

1994:

Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio - NWA World Championship Match - Hardcore TV 1994 - ***

1995:

Dean Malenko & 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Tazz & Eddie Guerrero - Heatwave 1995 - ****

Eddie Guerrero vs. 2 Cold Scorpio - ECW TV Title Match - Hardcore TV - April 8th, 1995 - ***1/2

Ian Rotten vs. Axl Rotten - Tapei Death Match - Hardcore Heaven 1995 - ***1/4

Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko - Hardcore TV - July 28th, 1995 - ****

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psichosis - Mexican Death Match - November 2 Remember 1995 - ***1/2

1996:

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera - 2/3 Falls Match - Extreme Bash 1996 - ****1/4

Chris Jericho vs. Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Pitbull - Heatwave 1996 - ****1/2

Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of October 13th, 2014

Tag Team Top 5 for the Week of October 13th, 2014

 

1. Joseph Schwartz (@HammerSchwartz) & Chuck Stein-This was honestly a shocker. Going into the weekend, it seemed that The Hystars or Hooligans would walk out as the PWAS Detroit Tag Team Champions, but after winning a 3 Way Tag Team Elimination Match vs. The Viking War Party and Nate & Wellington, they got put into the Tag Team Title Match that night. They then outlasted both the Hystars and The Hooligans to earn the titles and their first ever #1 ranking. In fact, it’s their first ranking as a team! Congratulations to a team that shocked everyone. Now let’s see how they build on this success. #2 in the online poll with 21 votes.

 

2. Paul London (@LondonFu) & Brian Kendrick-The ICW Tag Team Champions make their 2nd straight appearance in the Tag Team Top 5 after retaining the titles vs. The Sumerian Death Squad (a former #2 themselves) on 10/12. The former WWE Tag Team Champions have started making an impact at the most crucial point of the year as we are heading into the home stretch and the inevitable Tag Team Top 50. 2 straight weeks in the Tag Team Top 5 will undoubtedly help their spot when the end of the year rolls around, but with that being said, there’s still more time to build on what they’ve started. Tied for #3 in the online poll.