Indy Power Rankings for the Week of May 18th, 2015
#1 John Skyler (@TheJohnSkyler)-The newly crowned (unofficial) King of Carolinas grabs the #1 spot in the Indy Power Rankings as the WrestleForce Heavyweight Champion added the PWX Heavyweight Title to his collection when he defeated Cedric Alexander, Ricochet, & Caleb Konley in a 4-Way Elimination match on 5/17. He also defeated Jesse Adler on 5/16 at CWF Mid-Atlantic to make his record 2-0 on the weekend. While he has been ranked very highly before, this is easily his highest ranking to date as he is clearly THE guy in the Carolinas right now as he owns two of the most important titles in North and South Carolina. Skyler has worked for a very long time to get where he is and it’s unlikely he’ll be going anywhere without one hell of a fight.
#2 Kongo Kong (@RealKongoKong)-“The Monsta” RETURNS to the Indy Power Rankings Top 10 this week after absolutely exploding back onto the scene with some high profile victories over the weekend. On 5/16 the IWA Mid-South Champion defeated Connor Braxton at AAW and then beat Eli Machete the same night. He then moved on to RCW on 5/17 where he defeated Jacob Brawn. He wrapped up the weekend with a victory in the much-anticipated match vs. American Viking to retain the IWA Mid-South Title on 5/18. A HUGE 4-0 weekend gets one of the true unsung talents on the indies yet another high ranking. If you don’t know him yet, go out of your way to find his work.
#3 Ultimo Dragon-It’s 2015 and Ultimo Dragon isn’t slowing down for anyone. With a 5-0 record, he had as good of an argument as anyone for the #1 spot this week. Unfortunately, what may have worked against him was the fact that most of these wins were in tag team competition. The NWA International Junior Heavyweight Champion and 1/2 of All Asia Tag Team Champions teamed with Jun Akiyama at AJPW on 5/12 to beat Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi; then defeated Masao Inoue at AJPW on 5/13, then teamed with Akebono on 5/14 to beat Suwama & Hikaru Sato, then teamed with Kento Miyahara on 5/16 to defeat Evolution (Hikaru Sato & Joe Doering), and then teamed with Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie on 5/17 to beat Go Shiozaki, Kento Miayahra & Kotaro Suzuki. Impressive weekend for a talent who is having a career resurgence this year.
#4 Candice LeRae (@CandiceLeRae)-It’s the highest singles ranking yet for one of the best female competitors in the entire world. ½ of the PWG and FSP Tag Team Champions added a bit of prestige to her singles career over the weekend when she defeated Brent Banks to advance to the finals of the SMASH Wrestling Gold 2K15 Tournament and then beat Biff Busick, Trevor Lee, Tyson Dux, and Matt Cross to win the tournament the same day. She is perhaps the most well-known female athlete in independent wrestling right now as she continues to travel the roads all over the world. Can she achieve her first SINGLES #1 ranking before the end of 2015?
#5 Santana Garrett (@BrittanyTNA)-Despite not having as many matches as some of the others in the Top 10, the SHINE Champion (and NWA Women’s Champion) earned a lot of respect from the voters when she defeated Mia Yim to once again retain the SHINE Title on 5/15. One of the hardest things to do is to be a top flight challenger more than once, especially on a big stage. Santana Garrett has proven that despite the pressure of holding so many titles, she’s not going to go quietly into the night. She has been winning and defending titles for months. What’s next for the multiple champion?
#6 Marty Scurll-We get more UK talent in the Top 10 this week as the RPW British Heavyweight Champion and 1/2 of SWE Tag Team Champions defeated Andy Boy Simmonz at NWA FN on 5/15 in the quarterfinals, then defeated Doug Williams in the semifinals the same day, and then defeated Lewis Howley at Climax Wrestling on 5/16 to go 3-0 for the week. This is one of the highest rankings yet for one of the UK’s finest. He has already notched two Top 10 rankings this year. Can he continue to add to that total?
#7 Johnny Gargano (@JohnnyGargano)-“The whole shebang” returns to a place he’s quite familiar with as he took his SMASH Wrestling Title back to Canada and came out victorious after defeating Josh Alexander and Chris Hero on 5/17. His 2015 has been very good, but not yet at the level of his 2013. With the year almost half over, can Gargano hit a hot streak and start getting multiple rankings like we’re used to from him? He’s got some work to do but he has all the talent and overall charisma to make it happen.
#8 People’s Champ. Mary Elizabeth Monroe (@WrestlerMEM)-“MEM” does it again! For the second time, she won the online voting competition in a battle to the finish. There was some controversy as Madd Mustafa’s numbers surpassed hers AFTER 10 PM Eastern, but the voting was final at that time. To get to this point, she added to her recent string of wins when she defeated Samantha Heights at GIRLFIGHT on 5/12 and then beat Angel Dust to win the MCW Fighting Spirit Title on 5/16. With a 2-0 record this week, she’s still a star on the rise on the indies…and hopefully beyond.
#9 Heidi Lovelace (@HeidiLovelace)-“The punk rock rag doll” returned from Japan recently and since that time, she has been tearing it up in the Midwest. Over the weekend she added the RCW Title in Indiana to her collection and then she travelled to IWA Mid-South and defeated Kathy “The Butcher” Owens where she is 2-0 since her return from Japan. Very few females have experienced the career growth over the last year and a half as Heidi Lovelace, but she has absolutely earned everything that has come her way.
#10 BxB Hulk-The Dragon Gate Open the Dream Gate Champion did what very few have done this year when he defeated Akira Tozawa at Dragon Gate on 5/16. He added to that solid weekend when he teamed with Dragon Kid and Big R Shimizu to defeat Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito and Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) to go 2-0 for the week. BxB Hulk has been as good as anyone in 2015, proving once again that Dragon Gate is loaded with talent and competition.
Others missing out/receiving votes:
Medallion
Colin Delaney
Minoru Suzuki
Mark Kage
Madd Mustafa
Aoi Ishibashi
Nick Sohlo
Maki Narumiya
Kyote
Billy Brash
Tommy Dreamer
Bodyguard
Tex Rogers
Chris Hero
Bubblegum
Angel de Oro
Marek Brave
Shane Mercer
Rick Dominick
Afro Boy
Akito
Sean Lucas
Freddy
Will Ospreay
Amber Gallows
Joseph Conners
Jimmy Jack Funk Jr.
Heather Owens
Big Jon
Eric Locker
Ray
Kikutaru
Scott Renwick
Viper
Dragon Lee
Carbon
Agnar
Masaaki Mochizuki
T-Hawk
Brian Fury
Colin Brooks
Ecki Eckstein
Brad Attitude
Lodi
Charlie Haas
Jimmy Shane
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Check out the Indy Power Rankings Reveal on Filling the Void Radio Network here (this week is a very special jam-packed 2-hour PGP Living Proof & PWG DDT4 Hype Central with Jock Samson, Jake Dirden, & Blake Steel coming on from PGP and Brian Cage, Speedball Mike Bailey, Bill Carr, and Alex Reynolds joining us from PWG): http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fillingthevoidrn/2015/05/19/indy-power-rankings-reveal-pwgs-ddt4-hype-central
The Tag Team Top 5 Reveal on Elite Podcast Network features former Angelus Layne this week: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elitepodcastnetwork/2015/05/20/indy-power-rankings-tag-team-top-5-reveal-ft-angeluslayne
