Hey everyone, welcome to McRankings, which is a monthly feature in the DOI newsletters. To spice up the DOI website, every week (Or as much free time as I can get) I will rank, in my opinion, the top 10 indy wrestlers that I have seen for the week. The monthly rankings will remain in the newsletter, which is available monthly. I will also rank the top 5 tag teams, top 5 women wrestlers and top 5 “Intangibles”. There will also be one “McMatch of the Weekend.” Rankings will be on what I’ve seen only, and I usually make all the top shows. NWA-TNA wrestlers will only be ranked if they wrestle in the northeast area, but I will not rank wrestlers on what they have done in NWA-TNA, but I will comment on it. This is what I look for in a ranking. The criteria is listed in order.
1- Workrate- how good was the match from a wrestling standpoint. A lot of rest holds? Non stop action? Ring psychology, footwork and selling moves will also factor into this.
2- Character/Crowd Reaction- How the wrestler did with the crowd. Was the crowd chanting boring or were they popping the whole match? Likewise, was the crowd sitting there or booing and cursing the hell out of the heels?
3- Finally win/loss records. This won’t really factor into it too much, but if 2 guys are tied, then I will give the nod to the guy with the better win/loss record.
What up everyone in DOI land and welcome to another McRankings. This weekend I checked out the AWA and the NWS J-Cup. These rankings reflect those shows.
TOP 10 SINGLES WRESTLERS
10. Jay Lethal- took on Demanto for the AWA title before having his match interrupted by the NBC Wolfpac.
9. Danny Demanto- defended the AWA title twice this week, and was the first ever AWA champion to defend the championship out of the Union City area.
8. Damian Adams- was a major factor at the J-Cup, having a good bout with Mike Kruel.
7. Neeno Capone- was victorious at AWA and had a great first round match, despite being pinned, at the J-Cup.
6. Archadia- picked up a win at AWA and looked solid at the J-Cup.
5. Joe Hardway- was part of a good match at AWA, losing to Azraiel, in a bid to win the AWA Light Heavyweight Championship.
4. Trent Acid- was eliminated in the second round of the J-Cup, but gave it his all.
3. Deranged- was on the top of his game at the J-Cup, losing in the second round.
2. Azraiel- despite losing in the J-Cup finals, one could argue that Azraiel was the MVP of the tournament. Also had a great match at AWA on Friday night.
1. Mike Kruel- won the 6th annual J-Cup in an impressive manner.
TOP 5 TAG TEAM WRESTLERS
5. Elm Street Kids- defeated Team Target at AWA.
4. Notorious Inc- lost in another attempt to win the AWA tag team titles, this time going down to Cooper/Envy.
3. Eric Cooper/Envy- defended the AWA tag team titles on Friday night.
2. Jim Neidhart/Powerchild- The fans loved Neidhart and gave him the respect he deserved at NWS on Saturday night.
1. Simon Diamond/Chemical Ali- were very entertaining in their tag match at NWS this past Saturday.
TOP 5 WOMEN WRESTLERS
Note: On weeks where there weren’t enough women wrestlers, managers/valets will be placed in spots. Women wrestlers will always be ranked ahead of managers/valets.
5. Primetime Amy Lee- held it down at NWS, showing everyone why she is versatile.
4. Luscious Lily- let Krystal Synn know that she was in the house this past Friday night.
3. Alicia- joined the NBC Wolfpac and was promised a future AWA Womens title shot.
2. Krystal Synn- defeated Alere "Wahoo McDaniels" at AWA.
1. Alere Little Feather- carried Krystal Synn to a watchable match at AWA.
TOP 5 INTANGIBLES
The intangibles will be used for the top 5 people/angles/interesting developments that occurred during the week.
5. ROH Debuts in Manhattan This Saturday Night- ROH makes their much anticipated NYC debut this Saturday. Can ROH change the scape of NY wrestling?
4. The AWA and WXW Heavyweight Champions Take It On The Road- Danny Demanto (AWA Champion) and Bison Bravado (WXW Champion) defended their titles outside of their home promotions this past Saturday at NWS. Both champions proved they are fighting champions and will take on all comers. By defending the belts in other territories/promotions, it increases fan awareness to these promotions and wrestlers.
3. Jeff Jarrett wins the NWA Cyberspace Championship- Hopefully NWA Cyberspace can get a huge rub off of having Jarrett as their champion. It should be interesting to see how the NWA Cyberspace Championship eventually leaves Jarrett's waist.
2. Mike Kruel wins the 6th Annual J-Cup- Kruel had a great outing at the Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup, and definitely deserved this victory.
1. Chris Candido Passes Away- What else can I say that hasn't been said before? This is truly a sad week for pro wrestling.
