Indy Power Rankings for the Week of August 18th, 2014
1. Michael Elgin (@ROHMichaelElgin)-While it’s arguable that he was the clear cut #1 this week (it was anything but a sweep among the official voters) it is pretty obvious that Elgin scored the biggest victory of the weekend when he retained the ROH World Title vs. 3 of the best wrestlers in the world in Adam Cole, AJ Styles (the IWGP Champ by the way) and Jay Briscoe. Elgin’s dominance has been well documented over the last 2 years and this ROH World Title reign is only serving to hammer that point home. He keeps inching his way closer to Ricochet’s #1 spot in the IPR 100. It’s going to be a battle until the end of 2014 without question! #7 in the online poll.
2. Chase Owens (@nwachaseowens)-What more can be said about this talent? Every week for the last couple of months he’s been on our list and not just on the list, but HIGHLY ranked on the list. Whether it’s #1 or #2, Owens proved once again that he is a force to be reckoned with as he retained the NWA Junior Heavyweight Title twice over the weekend at NWA Smoky Mountain, defeating Andrew Boyd on 8/15 and Sugar Dunkerton on 8/16. He looks almost unstoppable at this point. A lot of voters are starting to wonder if he can keep this going throughout the rest of 2014 and make a serious run at the #1 spot in the IPR 100. Time will tell. Tied for #9 in the online poll.
3. Kongo Kong (@RealKongoKong)-Much like Chase Owens, this big man just does not go away. He wins, wins, and wins. This week he only had one show, but again, it was a victory as he defeated Tank at FWF on 8/16. This “monsta” damn near broke the ring twice with his behemoth of an opponent and in the end, as usual Kongo Kong came out on top. The IWA Mid-South Champion has been absolutely unstoppable the last couple of months and again, like Chase Owens, the question is looming as to whether he can make a strong run at the #1 spot in the IPR 100 this year. It’s been absolutely entertaining to watch. #6 in the online poll.
4. Cedric Alexander (@CedricAlexander)-The PWX and WrestleForce Champion had a very solid weekend after his narrow loss to Michael Elgin last week. First he defeated the very talented ACH at ROH on 8/15 and then he successfully defended his PWX Heavyweight Title when he defeated Marcellus King on 8/16. It’s no secret that voters have snubbed Cedric on more than one occasion this year, but this week was not one of those weeks. With as good as he’s been the last few months in the ring, if he can match that with his win-loss record, the sky is the limit for this young superstar.
5. Ricochet (@KingRicochet)-As if Ricochet hasn’t had enough success this year, he decided to add another title to his collection when he travelled to House of Glory in New York over the weekend. On 8/16 he defeated Marq Quen, Anthony Gangone, and Drew Gulak to win the tournament for the HoG Heavyweight Title. His only loss over the weekend was vs. Louis Lyndon at AAW, which is what likely cost him a #1 ranking this week (which would have added to his record 7 #1 rankings). With Elgin at #1, he loses a bit of ground at the #1 spot in the IPR 100, but not too much as all rankings add to the overall total. #8 in the online poll.
6. Shane Hollister (@The_Shug)-The AAW and SCW Heavyweight Champion makes a well-deserved return to the Top 10 this week after having one of the bigger wins of the weekend when he turned away the challenge of Johnny Gargano and #AllEgo. Hollister is no stranger to the Top 10 this year and while his original challenge of Eddie Kingston would have been big if he scored the victory, it’s arguable that this victory was even bigger than the original signed match. That match against Kingston should come at some point and when it does, Hollister will have another chance to prove that he’s the best in the Midwest.
7. Courtney Rush (@CourtneyRush)-What a victory for Courtney Rush over the weekend when she defeated 3 of the best not only women’s wrestlers, but 3 of the best in the world on 8/16. Add to the win a big title in the NCW Femme Fatales Title and you see why she’s ranked for the first time this week. It was a monumental victory when she knocked off Champion Mercedes Martinez along with Cheerleader Melissa and Lufisto in a 4 Way and she’s rewarded for that in the Top 10. Should she have been higher? We’ll leave that argument to someone else, but it was one hell of a win, regardless.
8. Yamamoto (@YoshiTatsulsm)-It’s apparent that a lot of the talent that was released by the WWE recently are landing on their feet and Yamamoto helped solidify that fact when he defeated Aaron Epic for the Florida Heavyweight title on 8/16. Not only that, he finished off the weekend with a title defense when he defeated Chico Adams on 8/17. BELIEVE 79 and BELIEVE 80 were the showcase for this underutilized wrestler and if he can continue this run, there’s no reason to believe he can’t be #1.
9. Matt Cross (@MDoggMattCross)-The bearded title collector once again returns to the Top 10 after yet another huge victory over the weekend. This time it was him extending his win streak at Smash Wrestling with a successful title defense vs. Chris Hero on 8/17 in Canada. He has been winning titles all over the world in 2014 and with the momentum he’s building, it’s hard to believe it’s going to stop any time soon. He has been absolutely unstoppable in several promotions (Smash being the most notable) and that is really starting to show with Top 10 ranking after Top 10 ranking. Tied for #9 in the online poll.
10. James Anthony (@87JamesAnthony)-A lot of people may not be familiar with this young up and comer, but if you pay attention to our ranking and especially the polls week after week, he’s been doing everything he can to compete as much as possible and get his name out there. He currently holds 3 titles in the RWC Tag Team Titles, the PWF Tag Team Titles, and the AIWF World Cruiserweight Title. Over the weekend he retained the AIWF Cruiserweight Title yet again after defeating Natural Born Playa on 8/16. His fans showed up to help his cause in the online poll and he snuck in this week as he was #2 in the poll with 39 votes.
Honorable Mention. Icarus (@IcarusWRW)-The CHIKARA Grand Champion returned from injury over the weekend in Canada with 2 solid victories to get another mention this week. While he may not have gotten to consistently compete throughout 2014, his victories are starting to add up. On 8/16 he won a big 10 man tag team match and then followed that up on 8/17 with a victory/title defense over Juan Francisco de Coronado. If he can remain healthy, he’s got plenty of time in 2014 to improve his ranking in the IPR 100 which is far too low right now for a champion of his calibre.
People’s Champ. Lightning Bolt Johnson-It wasn’t even close as the FWF Cruiserweight Champion crushed everyone in the poll for a 2nd time to once again become the People’s Champion of the Indy Power Rankings. His popularity is soaring right now as he received 282 votes! Boom!
Others missing out/receiving votes:
Jack Fox
Jorge Santi
Heidi Lovelace
Michael Hayes
Chris Jones
Lee Byford
Melvin Maximus
Johnny Primer-Tied for #4 in the online poll
Brandon Gatson
Jay Lethal
Jason Kincaid
Jay Anthony-#3 in the online poll with 22 votes
Scotty O’Shea
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