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

For the Week of January 27th, 2014

1. Shane Hollister-The AAW Heavyweight Champion lands at #1 for the 2nd
straight week after retaining his title vs. Jimmy Jacobs in yet another war for
“The Shug.” After never quite reaching the #1 spot in 2013, Hollister has now hit this mark in consecutive weeks, a feat that hasn’t happened very frequently in the history of the Indy Power Rankings.

2. Matt Cage-Anyone who tries to argue that Matt Cage isn’t “Money” at this point is blind to what he’s been doing lately. Continuing his trend of recent victories, he retained his AAW Heritage Title vs. ACH on 1/24 and then picked up a victory over Black Baron at the Beyond Tapings in Atlanta on 1/26.  Cage has been absolutely dominant in 2014 so far. Could another #1 ranking be on the horizon for the SCW Champ?

3. Johnny Gargano-After being highly ranked last week, the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion built on his impressive 2014 with a win vs. Michael Elgin at Smash Wrestling on 1/25 to avenge his loss at The Battle of Los Angeles. “The Whole Shebang” has been beating some of the best competitors on the indies in one on one competition. A #1 ranking is inevitable.

4. Drake Younger-“The Ultra Violent Golden Boy” continued his hot streak over the weekend as he picked up a big tag team victory over Brian Cage & Tyler  Bateman at AWS while teaming with Willie Mack. While it wasn’t as busy as most weekends for the former Midwest star, he’s continuing his climb to potentially his first #1 ranking.

5. Kevin Tibbs-This may not be a familiar name for avid followers of the Indy Power Rankings, but he had a very strong weekend and launched himself right up the top 10 with 3 wins and a victory in the VPW King of New York Tournament. In the first round he defeated Jorge Santi, before moving on
to defeat EJ Risk, and then finally he defeated The Amazing Red in the finals. Look for his name to pop up again in the near future if he can continue this type of run.

6. Benjamin Kimera-The former Rockstar Pro Champion did what he always does this week… win. On 1/22 at Rockstar Pro’s Amped Taping, he won a 12 man tag team match as he teamed with Andy Stryker, Dave Crist, Bruce Grey, Jon Murray & Capt. James to defeat Michael, Jim Hutchinson, Tom McClane, Draven, Fallen & Zak Spades. Despite losing his cool, Kimera moves up a spot in the rankings once again.

7. Chris Hero-Amazingly, despite a ton of fan support, this is Chris Hero’s first time ranked in the Indy Power Rankings. He’s had some fantastic matches since his return to the indies, but his win-loss record in terms of statistics, has not been up to par. That all changed over the weekend as he pinned World Champion Adam Cole in ROH’s big 3 way tag match at Wrestling’s Finest on 1/25. He then became the first man to defeat AJ Styles since his return to the indies as Hero came out victorious at Smash Wrestling on 1/26. More wins
like this and Hero will be enjoying a #1 ranking very soon.

8. Amber O’Neal-This blonde haired beauty has put together quite the impressive 2 week run for herself. At PWX last weekend she picked up 2 big wins. This week she defeated La Rosa Negra at SHINE 16 to continue the winning
streak. With 3 straight wins, she climbs into the Indy Power Rankings for the  first time. Can we expect more of the same from her in the upcoming weeks?

9. Matt Cross.-“M Dogg” has been tearing it up lately all over the place. This weekend he defeated ACH, Kyle O’Reilly, and Scotty O’Shea at Smash Wrestling’s Any Given Sunday on 1/26. His record is completely unblemished at Smash Wrestling and with more huge shows coming up in 2014, he’ll have plenty of chances to climb the Indy Power Rankings ladder.

10. Marcus Anthony-Look up dominance in the dictionary and you might just find a picture of Marcus Anthony. This huge athlete has taken OVW by storm
recently, going as far as to defeat Jamin Olivencia for the OVW Heavyweight Title. If you look through his match history (2 wins this week by the way), he is unstoppable. DQ losses are the only way to beat him, apparently. Will this force to be reckoned with do what Jamin did and grab a #1 spot soon? He’ll have to
keep his temper in check and avoid DQ losses in order to do so.

1st Honorable Mention. Ryan Howe-While his pro wrestling career may
have started out in a very ridiculous manner, his record as of late has been no joke. He has yet to lose in 2014, including defeating Jay Bradley in a huge contest. With 2 more wins this week at OVW, the question is starting to linger…who can beat this young up and comer?

2nd Honorable Mention. B-Boy-Retained the AWS Heavyweight Title vs. Ricky Mandel on 1/25.

3rd Honorable Mention.  Lance Lude-3-1 over the last 2 weeks. Defeated RGL Champ Chet Sterling (non-title) at CWF Mid-Atlantic on 1/25.

Just missing out/Others Receiving Votes:
Dave Crist
Jake Crist
Nevaeh
Zane Dawson
Lance Lude
Papadon
Tyson Dux
Donnie Dollars
Jimmy Havoc
Kahagas
Billy Buck
Todd Hanson
Aaron Williams
Nikki Storm