Indy Power Rankings for the Week of July 7th, 2014

1. KUSHIDA (@KUSHIDA_Canada)-It was another week of chaos for the official voters BUT, there was one constant. Only one official voter did not have KUSHIDA at #1 on his ballot, but that voter had him at #2, so consistency was key this week for the NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion as he not only got his first singles ranking…but his first #1 ranking! After defeating Kota Ibushi for the title, ½ of the IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions was now a double champion, but one further victory on 7/6 sealed the deal as he went 2-0 on the weekend and had arguably the biggest win of the entire weekend. Congrats to the new champ! Tied for #8 in the online poll.

2. Rhett Giddins (@bmop_rhett)-Make it back-to-back #2 rankings for the SCW Florida Heavyweight Champion! In fact, among the official voters, he was the only other talent outside of KUSHIDA to garner a #1 vote. His win over Aaron Epic was impressive, but it was his 6 wins over the last 2 weeks at BELIEVE that got him to where he is now. He’s been absolutely on fire the last 2 weeks and if he can keep this momentum, his first #1 ranking can’t be far off. Wins matter and that’s what Rhett Giddins has been doing over and over again.

3. Kongo Kong (@RealKongoKong)-The resident monster of the Indy Power Rankings has made himself at home the last 2 weeks. After winning the IWA Mid-South World Title Tournament last week and getting ranked, he defeated Brian Dewey at HWA on 7/5. Clearly, the official voters aren’t the only ones impressed with the big man as the fan vote once again showed heavy support for this beast of a man. #4 in the online poll with 96 votes.

4. Jock Samson (@JockSamson)-Is he the most technically refined wrestler in the world? No. Is he one of the most entertaining? More than likely the answer is yes. That being said, last week the WAR Champion got snubbed from the Top 10 after a great 3-0 week, but he made up for it this week with a very high ranking after yet another successful defense of his title as he defeated Brian Beech and Sherman Tank on 7/4 to run his 2 week record to 4-0. Pretty impressive stuff from a guy most people either love or hate.

5. Marcus Anthony (@sgamarcus)-This powerhouse returned to the Top 10 this week after an impressive victory over Jamin Olivencia that earned him the OVW Heavyweight Title once again. It’s actually been quite a while since he’s been ranked in the Top 10, but his 2 victories at OVW last week were enough to push him over the top once again. With this victory and the loss by Melvin Maximus, many voters and OVW fans are hoping to see him lock horns once again with Maximus. Time will tell if that battle of the bulls will go down in the future.

6, “American Viking” Alex Rudolph (@VikingRudolph)-Much like Jock Samson, the big man was snubbed from the Top 10 last week, but this week was a different story. With a weekend record of 2-1 in 6 Man Tag Action combined with his 3-0 record last week, several of the voters felt he had done enough to crack the Top 10 once again. It was a week with a lot of competition and this Viking managed to sneak in with the aid of his partners, Frank Wyatt and Jake Parnell. He is ½ of the SNPW Tag Team Champions, currently and with this ranking the question looms…is singles gold on the horizon?

7. Aaron Williams (@PlanetWilliams)-“The Baddest Man Alive” returns this week to the Top 10 after an impressive 2-0 week. The Rockstar Pro Champion and ½ of the D1W Tag Team Champions had a stellar week as he defeated Nate Wings on 7/2 and then followed that up with a successful title defense vs. Jake Crist and Alex Colon on 7/5. While he hasn’t quite been able to reach the #1 spot, if you look at his body of work, it’s tough to argue with his moniker and this week, the fans showed some support as well. #7 in the online poll.

8. Madman Pondo (@MadmanPond0)-Much like a few of the others in this week’s Top 10, it wasn’t so much just what he did this week that got him as much as it was his body of work over the past 2 weeks. With a record of 3-0, a D1W Heavyweight Title win and defense of said title, it was hard to deny Pondo this week or in the words of his trademark stop sign…”Can’t Stop Pondo.” His victory over Tracy Smothers on 7/5 was just icing on the proverbial birthday cake for the champ after celebrating his birthday all over the Midwest and East Coast last week. Tied for #8 in the online poll.

9. Alex Shelley (@FakeKinkade)-If this list was based on pure wrestling ability, quality of matches, and things of that nature, this internationally renowned talent would be at or near the top of the list every single week. Unfortunately for him and oddly, this is his first time in the Top 10 this year. Granted, he’s been in the Tag Team Top 5, but again, this is his first singles ranking. It was the perfect week for him to slip in after a 2-0 week at New Japan for ½ of the IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions and while his week couldn’t quite compete with his partner’s week, it was still more than enough to slip him in this week.

10. Eddy Young (@The_Future_Eddy)-“The Future” Eddy Young is a testament to the importance of the fan poll this week. There were SEVERAL different wrestlers that were all right around #10 this week based on votes from the official voters, but it was the dominance that Young showed in the online vote that pushed him into the Top 10. It was a solid 2-0 week for the SWE Heavyweight Champion, but an argument could be made for several other wrestlers for spot #1 this week, but again, it was his fan support that helped him make his case for a well-deserved ranking. #1 in the online poll and People’s Champ this week with 472 votes.

Just missing out/Others Receiving Votes:
Lionel Knight
“Super Dark” Sugar D
Josh Bodom-#2 in the online poll with 447 votes
Zakk Sawyers
Rampage Brown
Adam Revolver
Chase Owens
Deadly Dale-#6 in the online poll with 44 votes
Alessandro Del Bruno
Dustin Rayz-Tied for #8 in the online poll
Kerry Awful
Shane Mercer
Ricochet
Chasyn Rance
Carter Mason-#3 in the online poll with 132 votes
JT Dunn
David Starr
Brad Hollister-#5 in the online poll with 56 votes

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