2014 Pro Wrestling Truth Awards Part 3 - Independent Wrestling & New Japan Year in Review

2014 was another amazing year for Independent Wrestling. The scene continues grow and promotions are drawing some of their biggest numbers yet. With mainstream wrestling not what it once was, many people have turned to independent wrestling (and puroresu/japanese wrestling) for their wrestling needs. I honestly can't say I blame them because ever since I began watching the Indies, I've been hooked.

None the less, this year in Independent Wrestling & Puroresu saw The Young Bucks & ReDragon bring tag team wrestling back to prominence by dominating every major promotion. From ROH to New Japan Pro Wrestling - these two teams had classics across the world against each other and just about any other team they stepped foot in the ring with. Matt & Nick Jackson and Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish were on another level this year.

Meanwhile, Uhaa Nation & Brian Cage continued to revolutionize what it means to be a big man in pro wrestling by showcasing a combination of power & agility that isn't often seen. Nation made waves in Dragon Gate & Evolve and saw his first taste of PWG action while Brian Cage had some setbacks in the form of injuries yet still provided fans with some memorable performances, made his return to TNA, and closed out the year with a huge win in PWG over Uhaa himself, Tomasso Ciampa, & Biff Busick. The days of muscular men solely performing power moves are over.

Speaking of revolutionizing, there are two women on the Independent scene that transcended stereotypes by delivering two equally awe-inspiring performances on the same night. In July, Candice LeRae and Veda Scott took to the ring in two different matches for two different promotions and left EVERYONE talking. Veda Scott (pictured above) went to war with Gregory Iron in a Steel Cage Match for Absolute Intense Wrestling and came out on top despite bearing the proverbial crimson mask.

 

Over on the west coast, Candice endured the same fate as she took everything The Young Bucks had to offer in the form of a piledriver on the floor & a thumbtack filled superkick yet she still came back for more and BEAT them! It was certainly a crazy year for women's wrestling.

2014 Pro Wrestling Truth Awards Part 2 - TNA Impact Wrestling Year In Review

2014 may have been the lowest point in the 12 year history of TNA Impact Wrestling. The guy they had built the company around, AJ Styles, left to New Japan & the Indies. The founder, Jeff Jarrett also made his departure. On top of that, they lost their TV deal near the end of the year although they thankfully would find a new one for 2015.

Despite all these negatives, there were several positives for TNA in 2014. The first being the signing of The American Wolves, Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards. The two had been tearing up the Independent Scene for quite some time and I'm sure everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they arrived in a mainstream company. Signing The Wolves was quite possibly the best decision TNA has made in awhile as they were a part of many of the best matches that took place this year. Most notably, the tag team title tournament with The Hardys & Team 3D which was without a doubt a classic series of bouts. The tag team division definitely shined this year aside from the idiotic decision to have James Storm & Abyss dethrone The Wolves in the latter part of the year. It's something that can be overlooked though because TNA was in a tight situation at the time.

The X Division also saw somewhat of a resurgence in 2014 as the Destination X TV Special on July 25th was one of the best events that TNA put on in the calendar year. It saw the returns of Low Ki, Homicide, & Brian Cage - all of which delivered in their respective matches. Samoa Joe also rose back to X Divsion prominence and reignited his classic rivalry with Low Ki by having several outstanding bouts. The most memorable one came at Bound For Glory where Joe, Ki, and Kaz Hayashi undoubtedly stole the show.

2014 Pro Wrestling Truth Awards Part 1 - WWE Year In Review

2014 WWE Year In Review

2014 was an odd year for WWE. It went nothing like most people expected coming out of 2013. The year started off rocky with the departure of one of their most popular stars, CM Punk which led to a protest from fans when Batista won the Royal Rumble instead of Daniel Bryan.

With this horrible start to the year, WWE changed course and gave Daniel Bryan what he rightfully deserved, his moment in the main event of WrestleMania. From the night after WrestleMania forward, it felt as if WWE had turned over a new leaf and fully recovered from the loss of CM Punk. It looked like Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Paige & Emma would be taking major roles on the roster alongside The Shield. However things would get turned upside down when Daniel Bryan suffered an unexpected career threatening neck injury and he was forced to surrender the WWE Title.

I guess the pressure of what to do after losing yet another top star due to injury caused WWE to totally lose focus on the stars they made at WrestleMania & the night after in the form of Cesaro & Paige as both wandered with little to no creative direction. Despite those two new stars beginning to flounder, The Shield stayed strong and arguably led the company through Bryan's injury as they main evented two PPV's thus being made into stars at the hands of Evolution.

Meanwhile, the guy that WWE can almost always count on, John Cena, took charge in the WWE Title picture only to be stopped by Brock Lesnar in August. Cena suffered two beatings like we've never seen him face before and soon after, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar rode off into the sunset, not to be seen again until December.

In the midst of this, each individual member of The Shield began branching out into their own. We saw Dean Ambrose become the lunatic fringe that all the fan's love while Roman Reigns earned his rep as the superman of the WWE despite suffering a groin injury that kept him out during the final few months of the year. As for Seth Rollins, 2014 was arguably his year moreso than Ambrose & Reigns as he became The Authority's protege, won the MITB briefcase, and ultimately defeated Dean Ambrose to end their feud. Rollins may have resorted to cheap and distasteful tactics, but they almost always led him to victory. Beyond that, Rollins delivered top notch performances throughout the year while Ambrose & Reigns had short periods of time off TV. Regardless of which member of The Shield succeeded most this year, the point is that they all came into their own in 2014.

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - December 15th, 2014

WWE Monday Night Raw Review - December 15th, 2014

Opening Segment - Raw is Jericho
I thought the opening segment tonight's show was great. It wasn't anything that will blow you away however the time flew by and it was something different. Rollins was the highlight of the segment for me along with Heyman. Both guys delivered fantastic promos and did a great job of foreshadowing things that would happen later in the evening.

1) Dolph Ziggler & Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper & Big Show
After the hell that Ziggler & Harper put themselves through at TLC, it wasn't surprising that they didn't go all out here. Both guys seemed tired and worn out and rightfully so. This was a pretty short match with the only highlight being Ziggler and Harper brawling over the announce table. The two deserved any easy night after they stole the show and put their bodies on the line the previous night so I can't complain. One thing I will complain about though is that Big Show pinned Erick Rowan for the second evening in a row. I don't think that's a smart decision especially if they're trying to build up Rowan. They could have atleast had him pick up the surprise win here over Show to give him some sort of momentum.

The Highlight Reel with Rusev & Lana
This actually went better than I thought although it wasn't as eventful as I expected. Jericho ragging on Lana was pretty funny and this was a nice rub for Ryback to be introduced by Y2J as the guy who wants to stop Rusev. Basic segment that accomplished what it set out to do. Looks like Ryback & Rusev will be feuding going into the new year.

3) Xavier Woods & Big E vs. Gold & Stardust

ROH TV Review - December 15th, 2014 - Tag Wars 2014

ROH TV Review - December 15th, 2014 - Tag Wars 2014

Coming off their year end PPV Final Battle, Ring of Honor has graced us with airing some events from the past. The first of these is Tag Wars 2014 from a month or so ago. There are three first round matches and the winners will go on to face ReDragon in a four way elimination match for the ROH World Tag Team Titles.

1) The Briscoes vs. Jay Lethal & J Diesel
I wasn't sure what to expect here considering Lethal & Diesel aren't really a team and beyond that, I've never even seen Diesel wrestle before since his mainly been a body guard. None the less, I was surprised that this bout was as enjoyable as it was. It kept my attention from bell to bell and was a great way to get this show going. Fun opening bout that sees The Briscoes advance!

Match rating - **3/4

2) Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs
Daniels & Kazarian have been on quite the tear since returning to the Independents however this match doesn't quite reflect that. Sure, they had some nice flurries here, but I struggled to really get into it. Not saying it was their fault or even The Decade's for that matter. This match just felt like it was there and nothing more. Decent match.

Match rating - **1/2

3) The Young Bucks vs. ACH & Matt Sydal

WWE TLC 2014 Predictions

1) Big Show vs. Erick Rowan
When Harper & Rowan were separated, I never expected to enjoy Rowan as much as I have. I know I've talked about this before, but the way they've added more dimensions to his character is a brilliant move. The rubix cube bit never gets old and now that he's got one of JBL's corny nicknames ("Big Red Rowan"), I think it's safe to say that Rowan is here to stay. This will most likely be the biggest match in his career as it's pretty obvious he'll be going over here. There's no reason for Big Show to win and I doubt WWE would book it that way. This is one of two matches that I expect to end rather quickly. Rowan for the win.

Who I think will win - Erick Rowan

2) Miz & Mizdow vs. The Usos - WWE Tag Team Title Match
I've really enjoyed this feud over the past few weeks. For one, Mizdow is gold. And two, Naomi getting more TV time is a plus. I hope this leads to her having a more prominent in-ring role because as unpopular of an opinion as it is, she's my favorite diva to watch wrestle. None the less, I think she'll have some sort of role in this match since it's been revealed that Miz is trying to mess with her just to distract her husband from this match. This is gonna be an interesting one for sure. Miz and Mizdow retain.

Who I think will win - Miz & Mizdow

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of December 8th, 2014

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of December 8th, 2014

 

1. “Bad Bones” John Klinger (@TheGermanPsycho) - On a week where ROH (perhaps the biggest independent in the U.S. by our standards…for the rest of 2014 at least) has their biggest show of 2014, it’s tough to take the top spot over the winner of the main event and ROH World Champion. That’s exactly what “Bad Bones” did as “The German Psycho” ran through the competition with 4 wins and no losses in Europe. The wXw Shotgun Champion defeated Chris Masters on 12/5 to retain the title, then defeated Brian Myers on 12/6 to retain again, then defeated Martin Stone on 12/6 at IPW:UK to win the IPW:UK World Championship, then defeated last week’s #1 Uhaa Nation on 12/7 to go 4-0 for the week. With 7 straight wins, it was almost impossible to deny “The Best in Europe” from the top spot this week. That being said, it wasn’t a straight sweep of the voters as there was a huge debate as to who should be #1.
 

2. Jay Briscoe (@jaybriscoe84) - The ROH World Champion defeated Adam Cole at Final Battle in a Fight Without Honor and many felt that was the win that would return him to the #1 spot for the first time in 2014. It was a spot that he had finally gotten to in 2013 before he was sidelined with the well-documented injury that kept him out for a few months. It wasn’t to be, unfortunately. Maybe it was due to his tag team losses in the UK last week. Maybe it was the fact that he had just ONE match as opposed to four like some of the other vote-getters, but regardless, a #2 ranking is nothing to sneeze at. Jay has been tearing it up in singles competition as of late, winning 8 straight matches in singles. Unfortunately for him, it was some of his tag losses that may have ultimately cost him the #1 spot. Not known for a lot of matches outside of ROH, it’s unlikely he’ll reach the #1 spot before the end of the year, but again, this ranking will definitely help his standing in the IPR 100 like Bad Bones before him.