The Man Comes Around! Becky Lynch is the top wrestler of 2018!

Becky Lynch by Rob Schamberger.

Rarely can I say a talent topping the year end list made a mark on only part of the calendar year. Sasha Banks, Broken Matt Hardy and AJ Styles had career defining years with matches and stories that reshaped the wrestling world for much of 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively. The same cannot be said for Becky Lynch.

Becky first came on my radar when she was still Rebecca Knox. In the earliest days of Shimmer, she worked for the promotion yet her career seemed to be speeding to an end. She retired from in ring activity in 2008, a perplexing decision for me as she seemed to be one of the best women on the independents at the time.

In 2012 she returned to wrestling and almost immediately signed with WWE, as the promotion clearly had something in mind for the woman they renamed Becky Lynch. If you look at those early days, she clearly seemed positioned to serve as a training body for the talents WWE wanted to bring up. She wrestled regularly against Bayley, Carmella and Sasha Banks. But even as she became a more important figure in NXT, she was the one member of the Four Horsewomen never to hold the title.

Even when she was called up to the main roster, it seemed like she was destined to forever be the bridesmaid but never the bride. Even when called up to the main roster, the Divas and then Women's title eluded her grasp until the new brand split. She seemed mostly defined by betrayals during this period, with both Paige and Charlotte turning on her at one point or another. She became the inaugural Smackdown Women's Champion, but no one saw her reign as anything exceptional, and Alexa Bliss quickly stole her thunder as the next "in" star.

She spent much of the first part of the year as a body in various battles with the Riott Squad. The Iiconics became her next regular feud, but one confined only to television, and one frequently interspersed with random battles with Mandy Rose or Sonya Deville. She seemed stuck in a rut.

But SummerSlam... well, it changed a few things. In the lead up to the match between Becky Lynch and Carmella, Charlotte made her return to the roster. She won a match that inserted her into the SummerSlam title match. Becky was none too pleased that her friend turned enemy turned friend was inserted herself in Becky's chance for the title.

Things came to a head at SummerSlam. Charlotte stole a victory and became Women's Champion, only to be brutally assaulted by Becky Lynch. Thus, The Man was born.

Image credit: WWE.com.

Since that time, Becky has become a dominant force on Smackdown. She would win the title at Hell in the Cell and defend it against Charlotte twice more. It's hard to argue that she's the top female wrestler in the company when she went on to put on multiple amazing matches for the remaining pay-per-views of the year. Her new personality came with a cutting wit that she was only allowed to show rarely before. Even dropping the title at TLC (without being pinned) just set her up to continue a dominant streak in the months ahead.

Yet the most interesting thing about Becky throughout her WWE career is that she's carried a narrative through-line. She's always been the good person, the one that wants a better division, a better place on the card and friends. Yet even since NXT, she's always the one being betrayed by those friends. Even in her turn to the Man, she continued to be the face in her own story. Charlotte betrayed her by inserting herself in the match and taking Becky's victory. The Man is just Becky finally letting her old friendships go in favor of a better her and a better women's division.

Perhaps no place shows this better than Smackdown's invasion of Raw before Survivor Series. While it would cost Becky a place at the pay-per-view, the invasion marked her as the leader of an entire division. Her dominance made it clear she could main event anywhere and the inadvertent injury may very well end with her facing Ronda Rousey in the first ever women's main event at Wrestlemania.

Becky Lynch is the Man. And we can all be damn glad she came around.

To NXT and beyond!: the Top 100 Wrestlers of 2018 #10-6

Today, we enter the Top 10 portion of our wrestlers of 2018. We've got a plethora of talent today, from arguably NJPW's top star to two women wrestlers ranked higher than most of their male counterparts and as the title might clue you in, a pair of the best and brightest in NXT.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

10. Johnny Gargano

Johnny Wrestling had a hell of a 2018. He main event all but one NXT Takeover event in the year. That started out with an epic encounter for the title against Andrade "Cien" Almas in January, one that in other years might have been considered an early match of the year contender. But that was just a warm up for Gargano. The attack from Tommaso Ciampa post-match would reshape the rest of his year.

His rematch with Almas would come with his career on the line and Ciampa would interfere to cost Gargano the title and his livelihood. Instead, Gargano started to assault Ciampa at NXT events. This lead to an Unsanctioned Match between the two of them in the Takeover main event in April. Gargano beat Ciampa to be reinstated into NXT.

Their feud continued in a Chicago Street Fight that he lost. Their next encounter would be for Tommaso Ciampa's newly won NXT championship, in a match also featuring Aleister Black. But an attack would take Black out of that match and Ciampa would barely retain.

Black's return came with the search for his attacker. And we soon learned that the desperate Johnny was the man that attacked Aleister Black to increase his chances of beating Ciampa. Johnny's new pension for doing whatever was necessary didn't secure him the win at Takeover: WarGames, but it did set him up for a major run in the new year. As contributor Christopher Cummings puts it, "One of the very best workers in the world right now, it’s a matter of time before he enters another match-of-the-year contender. He doesn’t seem to struggle with providing us with those."

Image credit: WWE.com.

9. Charlotte Flair

Charlotte was certainly involved in some of the most notable matches of 2018. Yet as I look at the six names below her on this list, I certainly feel like the voters might have attributed too much to her. Being significantly pushed by WWE is not the same as being a super-talented in ring competitor and I personally don't see Flair as ranking above Gargano, Penta or Cody. But this is your list, not mine, so let's talk about the Queen.

She entered 2018 as champion which meant she sat out the Royal Rumble. She beat Ruby Riott at Fastlane the month before her shocking victory over Asuka at WrestleMania. She would drop her belt to Carmella the next night. She lost to Carmella in her rematch before disappearing for television to deal with nagging injuries.

She would then insert herself into the SummerSlam title match between Becky Lynch and Carmella. She won the title that night and in the process set up a car crash storyline for the rest of the year as she feuded with former friend Becky Lynch. This would bring out a much darker edge in Charlotte, one she would carry into her match with Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series.

Charlotte seems to perpetually be in the SmackDown title picture. I don't expect that to change in the New Year either. But with the company admitting it needed to make changes, hopefully we will get to see more range from Charlotte rather than the same old title matches again and again.

Image credit: NJPW.

8. Kenny Omega

The sad part of this being a democratic list voted on by fans is that here in the number eight position we get our highest ranked non-WWE contracted talent. For a man with multiple great matches including a match of the year contender at Dominion, I argue it's not the right spot either.

Omega entered the year with the hottest feud in wrestling. Chris Jericho came out of nowhere to make his New Japan return and set up the amazing match that took place at Wrestle Kingdom between himself and Omega. Omega walked out of that match the winner, even if he left at odds with Bullet Club and Cody. He did receive support from another source though, his old Golden Lovers partner Kota Ibushi.

Though he would drop the United States title in a shocking upset to Jay White, he would score wins over almost ever major New Japan star over the course of the year, from the Young Bucks (with Ibushi at his side) to Kazuchika Okada in that aforementioned match of the year at Dominion. Days later, he would retain the title against Cody at the G1 Special in the United States. The two would embrace after that match, ending the divide between the Bullet Club, until Tama Tonga introduced the world to the BC Firing Squad.

He would go on to score six wins at the G1, beating names like Naito, Sabre and Goto. Though he lost matches to Ishii and Ibushi, he would retain against both men later in the year (along with another victory over Cody in the Ibushi match.)

He put on an amazing match at ALL IN against Penta El Zero M, only to be attacked again in the aftermath of the match. This set up yet another battle, as Jericho teamed with the Young Bucks to fight Omega, Cody and Marty Scurll on the Jericho Cruise.

Omega ended the year as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, but he would lose it three days into the New Year. He announced a hiatus from wrestling shortly thereafter and has now officially become the hottest free agent in professional wrestling. AEW seems like the clear leader for his future, but his history with NJPW and a reported huge money offer from WWE makes his future an open question for the next few weeks.

Image credit: WWE.com.

7. Asuka

While Charlotte felt like she was over-pushed for most of the year, Asuka spent a large chunk of the year feeling like WWE just didn't care. Though she won the Royal Rumble and beat Nia Jax, her loss to Charlotte at Wrestlemania seemed to derail her. She went on to lose two terrible title shots against Carmella over the summer. From there, she formed a team with Naomi, seemingly built around the fact that both like to use a hip attack as a major part of their arsenal. Though it kept both in rotation on Smackdown television, it seemed like she was just treading water until TLC. At that event, she finally scored a win in a TLC match over both Becky Lynch and Charlotte, albeit with a strong assist from Ronda Rousey.

Though she ended the year finally Smackdown Women's Champion, it truly feels as though Asuka isn't in WWE's title picture for too long. Of course, that could always be wrong, especially with the announcement of Women's Tag Team titles in the future.

Image credit: WWE.com.

6. Aleister Black

No one shows the difference presentation can make in a talent better than Aleister Black. I knew Tommy End as a talented competitor on the indies, but one that seemed very limited in personality. WWE immediately changed that by presented him with a unique entrance, a unique theme and a new attire that fit him perfectly. It helped the Dutch performer get off the ground and he capitalized at Takeover: New Orleans by beating Andrade Almas almost exactly after he did in his debut, this time to win the NXT title.

He would defend against Lars Sullivan just a few months later in Chicago, only to drop the title to Tommaso Ciampa on NXT television. His rematch would be lost due to a backstage assault, which in turn would lead to a new feud against Johnny Gargano to close out the year.

As the New Year dawned, the three men seemed locked in a storyline together, one that also looked to pull in NXT North American champion Ricochet.

With all likelihood, Aleister Black will see a WWE call-up in 2018, but like Lars Sullivan, I'm hoping they hold back such a debut until the exact right time to make it count. Black is a one of a kind talent, the kind of star that when booked correctly could easily be an important main event player. Whether or not that occurs remains in fate and WWE bookers' hands.

Tomorrow, we unleash positions 5 through 2 onto the world! Stay tuned and be sure to let me know your thoughts here or on social media!

Remembering the greatest super heavyweight: Big Van Vader

The best way to remember Vader, laying out the Bulldog and Hitman at the same time!

Before 1990, professional wrestling had Heavyweights, Cruiserweights and sometimes, even giants. But at The Great American Bash in the summer of that glorious year, America learned what a super heavyweight was, in the form of the monstrous figure of Big Van Vader. A four hundred pound American in a lucha mask that gained fame in Japan, he was like nothing anyone ever saw in wrestling before.

Leon White, the man behind that mask, died two days ago after pneumonia complicated his long running battle with heart disease. He was only 63.

Back when he first debuted, WCW was the B-league for an old northern boy like me. TBS was that weird southern channel and their talents were nothing compared to the almighty Hogan, Savage and Warrior. But even in my haze of northern viewing, when I did flip through to WCW, two figures always stood out to me as like nothing WWF offered. Cactus Jack was one of them, a figure I liked despite my brother's assurance he was pretty much just a Jim Duggan knockoff, and the beast called Vader.


By that time, he'd lost his crazy smoke shooting outer mask, which probably would have served the Shockmaster better than it ever did Vader. I only caught glimpses of his work in the promotion, usually in squashes to end all squashes. No one could stand against Vader. He would ultimately dominate the heavyweight scene in WCW for most of 1992 and 1993, putting on stupendous matches against Cactus Jack, Sting and Ric Flair. His final reign ended when he lost in a Ric Flair title-vs-career match, which also featured the onscreen debut of the future Charlotte Flair. By the company's finish, only two men would hold the title more than he did: Hollywood Hogan and Flair.

The advent of Hogan brought him into a monumental feud with the company's new babyface champion. He would do his best against the fading glory of Hogan, but Vader clearly didn't care for his presence or Bischoff's new direction with him. He ultimately left for WWF just as Nitro debuted, a decision that would haunt him for much of his life.

His WWF run was anything but spectacular and it would be shown for years afterward by the clear lack of respect Vince McMahon showed for Vader. During his three years up north, he would fail to win a single title and mostly be used as fodder in other people's storylines. Even as WWF struggled with a lack of big names, Vince seemed adamant against using the huge name he picked up from WCW. It basically destroyed Vader's career in the United States. After leaving the fed in 98, he would only make a handful of televised American appearances for the rest of his career.


Instead, Vader's career ended where it started, in Japan. He was a huge part of first All Japan and later Pro Wrestling Noah in the late 90s and early 00s. He would win the All Japan Triple Crown twice in that period as well as the coveted Champion Carnival tournament (think the equivalent of the G1 Climax.) He would become the inaugural Noah's GHC tag champion with 2 Cold Scorpio, a criminally under-rated tag team pairing.

After his Japanese run, he would pop up at various companies around the world, including a couple appearances for both Impact and WWE. He even made one stop here in Iowa for an SCW event back in 2013, teaming with major Iowa wrestling veterans like Marek Brave and Shane Hollister.
Much ado is put into the names that do and don't make it into the WWE Hall of Fame, but it is absolutely criminal Vince would not let whatever grudge he had against Vader go in order to allow the man to be inducted in his lifetime. (Though he did get to induct Stan Hansen in 2016.)


He announced around a year ago that a heart condition meant his time on Earth would be over within the next couple years. Sadly that has come to pass and history's greatest super heavyweight is gone. A better WWE would have Braun Strowman play tribute to him on Raw this coming Monday. I really only hope for a graphic, even if he's been a long time member of the WWE Legends program. Even death doesn't stop Vince from holding a grudge.

Let's look back at the man, the myth, the legend of Vader and remember all the great moments though. His career may not have ended on the highest note, but it's hard to argue against his place as one of the greatest of all time.

The Top Ten Wrestlers of 2017, Honorable Mentions part three

Tomorrow, we reveal the immensely talented number one wrestler of 2017 as voted on by the readers of this site. But first, we have the final ten talents that made a large impact over the year withotu quite reaching the top 10.

• Christopher Daniels (#20)
  
  

  

  Image credit: Oil Sandler / Sportskeeda.

  At 46 years of age and a quarter of a century into his career, Daniels is a veteran by any count. Only a few names can say they've made it as far and as high as he has without ever finding success in WWE. (While he never was on WWE television outside an appearance as a Conquistador, he did have a developmental contract from 1998-2000.) 2017 was one of his most impressive years in the business as he wrestled several great matches and finally ascended to the pinnacle of a world championship. While his run with the ROH title wasn't particularly long, it was quite an achievement for one of the best talents still going in the business.
  
  
• Johnny Gargano (#19)
  
  Injury slowed Johnny Gargano a bit in 2017, but he walked into the year as NXT Tag Team Champion and walked out as #1 contender to the NXT title. He ranked high on the list of talents here (while current NXT champion Andrade Almas didn't even get a vote.) And while he spent much of 2017 taking losses, he showed why he's called Johnny Wrestling in match after match. He and Tommaso Ciampa sold for the Authors of Pain like no other. The beating he took at Ciampa's hand set him up for a huge underdog babyface run. But he did succeed in putting Andrade on the map with a stellar match at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III and bumped for Pete Dunne in perhaps the best UK title match so far. Gargano has a great 2018 in his future, although Tommaso has to be waiting in the wings as a major thorn in his side.
  
  
• The Young Bucks (#17 & 18)
  
  

  

  Image Credit: ROHwrestling.com.

  I marked Matt and Nick Jackson as the eighth and ninth best wrestlers in the world on my own personal list. They remained forgotten on several others. I suspect they may be victims of their own success. The Young Bucks don't ever have bad matches, but their place as a stalwart and true tag team means they often are forgotten during their dozens of reigns with multiple titles. They held the ROH tag titles twice in 2017, losing and regaining them from the Broken Hardys in their last match before jumping back to WWE. They would then team with Hangman Page (as the Hung Bucks) to capture the ROH Six Man titles. They would take the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team title on their sixth ride as well. (They have since claimed it for the seventh time at Wrestle Kingdom 12.) The Young Bucks have already reached the sky, but their lofty goal of selling out a ten thousand seat arena means they may draw a lot more eyes in 2018.
  
  
• Samoa Joe (#16)
  
  On any other roster, Joe would be a champion. Unfortunately, he's stuck on the roster of Raw, where Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns won't drop their matches without extreme circumstances. Joe dragged the best match Lesnar had this year out of him and actually made Reigns look better (if not great) when he played his latter day Hulk Hogan beatdown schtick. If all goes well in 2018, he will join AJ Styles on Smackdown. It might make that brand look like TNA circa 2008, but everyone and their uncle know the magic Styles and Joe can make. And just think if they threw Shinsuke in there...
  
  
• The Bar (Sheamus #15 & Cesaro #11)
  
  

  

  Image credit: WWE.com. 

  Cesaro and Sheamus were the only tag team not to rank one after another on this list. Both proved their worth by putting on great tag matches in 2017. Their heel turn cemented them as a unit. Cesaro has always worked at a higher level than Sheamus, but the Irishmen seemed relevant for the first time in years in The Bar. I suspect these two will hang together for some time to come.
  
  
• Charlotte Flair (#14)
  
  Charlotte's move to Smackdown and face turn have done wonders for her character and her in ring work. In my opinion, she works best as a face and she showed that off by putting on some matches far stronger than what we got in the last few months of her heel run. My only fear for her is that she will run out of goals to accomplish in WWE far too quickly.
  
  


• Neville (#13)
  
  

  

  Image credit: WWE.com

  My number six pick takes the cake for most improved character work by any meter. But this list is about in ring work and in WWE, he was right near the peak of that. WWE's decision to de-push and turn him was beyond idiotic and would have been a truly awful way to end one of the hottest runs in wrestling. I don't blame him for walking away to avoid being just another member of the Cruiserweight crew. I'm not sure if he will sit out his WWE contract or return, but smart money will be that he's back in the heavyweight division when he does. Honestly, who wouldn't love to see Neville on Smackdown feuding with Nakamura or Styles?
  
  


• The Miz (#12)
  
  I cannot argue that The Miz is really the MVP of Raw, often carrying a show that's primary champion is nowhere to be found and who doesn't ever wrestle on television. His character work is second to none and his in ring work has vastly improved in the last couple years. While I personally wouldn't have ranked him nearly this high, I respect the multiple voters that chose him as a top talent in WWE. 

That's the final ten. Observant readers probably already know who that leaves as number one, the second time our top talent has made an appearance in the top half of our list. Who is it? Find out tomorrow!

The 2016 Honorable Mentions List, Part Two

Tomorrow, we will return with the first of the top three, but today we take a look back at everyone else that made an impact in 2016. These figures all received multiple votes in our awards, but didn't quite earn enough to make it into the Top 10.

Image credit: WWE.

• Alexa Bliss: I would make a strong argument that Alexa earns a "Most Improved" award for the year. She showed tons of character on Smackdown Live and pretty much made that women's division competitive. Her feud with Becky Lynch has been nothing short of epic, and I look forward to her continuing her dominance in 2017. 
• Rosemary: TNA's resident mistress of decay has combined epic character work with her already capable in ring style, honed by years on the Canadian indies and in SHIMMER (where she played a very different character.) Joe Crowe sums her up wonderfully, saying, "She spews different colors of mist. And she, unlike almost all other big-league female wrestlers, has a character that goes beyond 'Lady who wrestles.'"
• Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson: It's no surprise there's crossover between the people that voted for The Revival and those who voted for Charlotte. Both of them have a lot of old school nostalgia at their base, but I personally think The Revival currently have a stronger game than the Raw Women's Champion.
• Seth Rollins: I can think of only a few big returns as bungled as WWE bringing back Seth Rollins. From his return as a heel to his turn against Triple H that hasn't shown any story progression (because that feud can't start until Wrestlemania season) to a series of so-so matches with Kevin Owens, he just could not get off the ground with Raw's weak booking. 
• Bobby Roode: Roode had a good first few months of the year in TNA as one half of Beer Money, but I doubt anyone voted for him for that. His Glorious arrival in NXT has revitalized his career. His song has inspired a great new character for him and he looks to have a strong 2017 in a feud with Shinsuke Nakamura. Of the names on this list, he's the one I suspect will rise the most on next year's list.
• Dean Ambrose: Dean seems like he'll never quite make this list. He's a solid in ring worker, but his gimmick and his go to spots have become stale as a babyface. Only Roman Reigns more desperately needs a heel turn in WWE. 
• Becky Lynch: Becky finally received a title in WWE, but her run as inaugural Smackdown Women's Champion was dwarfed by the rise of Alexa Bliss. As a babyface, she makes a far better underdog than she does a top dog which hopefully will mean a feud with La Luchadora in the coming weeks will give her some good in ring time without immediate rematch after rematch against Alexa.
• Sasha Banks: Last year's number one had some more great matches in 2016, but her year just couldn't compare to the previous. After a great Wrestlemania match, several of her matches with Charlotte were good but none seemed to be the game changing bouts she had with Bayley in the previous year. Still, Sasha could have a huge run in WWE still ahead of her, especially if she could make a move to the blue brand. 
• Tetsuya Naito: The leader of Los Ingobernables De Japon had one of the best years of any wrestler in New Japan. He won both the World Title and the Intercontinental Title, which he continues to hold as of this writing. While the return of Suzukigun might make Los Ingobernables play second fiddle for a bit, he's still cemented himself as a top star in the promotion and arguably a suitable replacement for Nakamura at the main event. Additionally, he has put up some of the best matches of any NJPW star in ROH where he's wrestled a great feud with Jay Lethal. 

Naito does evil like no one else. Image credit: NJPW.

That's the complete list of everyone that fell below the Top 10 line. With it, you may be able to determine your guesses for the top three wrestlers of the year. Any ideas? Share them in the comments below!

Charlotte: #4 in the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2016

Full disclosure: Charlotte is the highest ranked wrestler on this list I didn't vote for myself. While she was dominant in the Raw Women's Division through 2016, I didn't feel her in ring work was really as good as it could have been. If anything, I still feel like Charlotte has regressed since moving from NXT to WWE.

Charlotte very rarely was seen without Dana in her corner in 2016.
Image credit: WWE.com.

But this vote isn't just about me. Every other person that voted gave her a rating, most within their top five wrestlers. After just falling outside of the top ten last year, a strong argument could certainly be made for Charlotte's inclusion in the 2016 list. She wrestled at every single Raw or dual brand pay-per-view of the year. Her only pay-per-view loss was a tag match against Bayley and Sasha Banks, and even then Dana took the pinfall instead of her. And while she traded the title with Sasha on multiple Raw matches over the year, she's remained undefeated in singles competition on pay-per-view.

Of course, like all Raw heel champions, she depends solely on shenanigans to pick up the majority of her victories. While I don't hate the idea of heels cheating by any means, often Raw champions start to feel like Russo booked events with their endless need for cheap endings.

Contributor Joe Crowe—who ranked Charlotte as the top wrestler of the year—might best describe her success in the list. "For a wrestling history geek, it's just neat to see a legacy wrestler do well. But Charlotte doesn't try to be cool, she tries to be an old-school heel. I dig it."

Clearly, Joe was far from alone and that's why Charlotte deserves her place on the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2016.

The Top Ten returns next week with the top three wrestlers of the year, starting with the highest ranked female wrestler on the list!

Wrestling Weekday presents the WWE fantasy draft

It has been weeks since WWE first announced the return of the roster split as part of an ongoing move to broaden the viewership of Smackdown. This Tuesday on the first live Smackdown, it will take place, complete with a second screen experience to keep the draft going into the evening.

Over the weekend I teamed with John Morgan Neal of the ESO-PRO podcast for something just about every wrestling site is doing over this weekend, predicting their layouts one-on-one of the WWE draft. John Morgan picked Smackdown as his brand, and I took Raw. With the assumption Smackdown gets the first pick, we started to run down our own rosters. 

We had a few simple rules: single stars remained singles stars while tag teams remained tag teams unless a good reason existed to break them apart. Any NXT star of extended service (i.e. ready for the main roster) was allowed as a draft pick, but no higher than round four. Brock Lesnar is considered an automatic free agent, as Paul Heyman refuses to have him tied to a single brand. Finally, we were each allowed one surprise outside pick which you will see down the list at certain points. 

With the assumption that this draft will be extended longer than the show itself, probably through WWE Network picks, John Morgan and I went twenty rounds to pick our choices for the best names on both new brands. 

FIRST ROUND

Image credit: Rob Schamberger.

SD: Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon choose for their first pic of the draft, JOHN CENA.   While Shane and Daniel are all about the New Era.  The New Era isn't about erasing or denigrating the past.  And they realize Smackdown needs things to get eyes on the new Smackdown.  Going live and having their own roster is the start. But having the biggest name in all of pro wrestling exclusively on your show is another.  John Cena would be an excellent start to a brand new Smackdown roster.

Image credit:
Rob Schamberger.

RAW: Stephanie McMahon wants the newest star on the WWE roster, a man that has made a name for himself in just the six months since his first appearance at the Royal Rumble. He's the man that beat John Cena. He is a wrestler and a man that inside or outside the ring is simply Phenomenal. Raw's first round pick is AJ STYLES.

Analysis: Clearly both John Morgan and I knew the importance of John Cena to WWE's product. If JMN hadn't recruited him, he would have been Raw's first pick. But with Cena taken for Smackdown, his current foil seemed like the perfect first round pick for Raw, even if it did leave the World Heavyweight champion and his contenders by the wayside. Besides, I am still amazed that I live in a world where AJ Styles could have an outside shot of being a first round draft pick for a WWE draft. Five years ago, I would have told you that you were clearly insane to even think that idea. Oh how the times change.

SECOND THROUGH FIFTH ROUNDS

SD: While Shane's first pic was using the past to help the future his next pic is the future, the face of the future in fact and a potential new  WWE champion as of Battleground: SETH ROLLINS!

RAW: Raw's second pick is a man Stephanie doesn't like very much, but who has proven he can survive a beating and keep going. That resiliency made him the WWE champion and his name is DEAN AMBROSE.

SD: Well one world champion deserves another so Shane decides to be positive with his next draft as to not be booty and picks the two times Double U. Double U. E. Tag Team Champions THE NEW DAY:  Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods.

Image credit:
Rob Schamberger.

RAW: Last year, Stephanie started the revolution. This year she will take control of that revolution. The third pick for Raw is the WWE's women's champion CHARLOTTE. 

SD: And Shane was instrumental in the New Era which Smackdown is going to be all about.  And that area is all about the new!  For his next pick Shane welcomes someone new to the main roster.  FINN BALOR!

RAW: Stephanie doesn't like him. Heck, she hates him. But she knows that in this business respect must be played to the man that rises against all obstacles. Whether he's the good guy or the bad guy, he is Raw's guy: ROMAN REIGNS.

SD: Shane shows he is not above picking someone he doesn't care for either.  But talent is talent and no one in the WWE has more of it than KEVIN OWENS!

RAW: He's perhaps the most dominant champion in WWE today and has destroyed the competition that has came in his path. The fifth pick for Raw is the United States champion, RUSEV.

Analysis: I'm not sure I agree with John Morgan in choosing Seth over Dean unless he wins the title on Monday night. I think the third round feels right as I expect both the tag and women's championship to be high in the prize list. I certainly wanted Stephanie to continue to focus on the women's division as well, so Charlotte had to go high to guarantee the title was held there. I wasn't surprised by most of the other picks on the list, but I was a bit surprised either secondary champion wasn't picked until the fifth round. I actually waited that long assuming JMN would take his pick and I could counter with the other. But I happily took Rusev, a man with tons of potential still untapped.

Looking back at Extreme Rules 2016

Like too many WWE pay-per-views, Extreme Rules had some great moments but they were tempered by far too many terrible events that just hurt the show. And of course, the news of Cody Rhodes' requested release being approved darkened the night just a bit (but more on that later this week.)

Image credit: WWE.com.

The pre-show gave us another confrontation between Big Cass and the Dudley Boyz, another segment clearly designed to promote the eventual feud between Enzo and Cass and the veteran extremists. Cass has certainly come into his own as a solo star in the last few weeks though and I suspect Vince will have a big future in mind for him.

Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler's no holds barred match had exactly one normally illegal move as Corbin set up the End of Days with a low blow. It completely wasted the stipulation, but at the same time they didn't want to do anything that would hurt the main event, which has the exact same stipulation with a different name.

The main show opened with The Usos and The Club in a tornado tag team match. Jimmy and Jey set out to have another great match in their repertoire and their battle with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows did not fail. The two teams put on a classic match in a format rarely seen on WWE television. Hopefully this will convince someone that more tornado tags will be great in the future of the tag division.

Previewing Extreme Rules 2016

Image credit: WWE. 

I’m still not quite sure what to make of this year’s Extreme Rules card. While this is the ‘new era’ of WWE, the card feels even less “extreme” than previous years. But the ongoing feuds offer some great match potential along with a few intriguing storylines.

The pre-show gives us Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin for the second month in a row, this time in a no disqualification match. (If you’re wondering how this is different than the Extreme Rules main event, the answer is they’re not at all different in modern WWE.) This feud still makes little sense to me as an ongoing storyline. Ziggler should be at a higher level than Ziggler, but Corbin should be winning if the company wants to establish him as a main roster star.

As an aside, this is the second month since his debut Apollo Crews doesn’t appear on pay-per-view. Dude has too many skills to not be used in a stronger feature.

The Top 10 Wrestlers of WWE, April 2016 edition

It has been six weeks since we last ran down the list of the top wrestlers in WWE. As the post-Wrestlemania WWE starts to take shape, let's look at all the wrestlers that are getting television time and excelling right now.

Image credit: WWE.com.

1. Dean Ambrose: Dean didn't have a very good Wrestlemania, nor did he appear on the post-Wrestlemania episode of Raw. But as he starts a new storyline with Chris Jericho, he seems ready to build his credibility back up. It seems likely he will continue to be a pseudo-main eventer over the next several months, even if WWE seems terrified of putting the title belt on him. (1/4)
2. Chris Jericho: Jericho picked up a strange win over AJ Styles at Wrestlemania. It seems in hindsight, the purpose was to make it clear that Jericho deserved a continued spot on WWE television for the next few months. Expect a long feud between him and Ambrose, most likely leading towards a SummerSlam resolution to his current run. (U/1)
3. Charlotte: I am not sure I am happy with a lot of the current booking behind Charlotte, but she continues to rise to the top in women's matches. The main roster has exposed many of her weaknesses in match building, but she still excels when working with ring generals like Sasha, Becky and her latest foe: the always solid Natalya. (9/5)
4. Roman Reigns: He won the main event of Wrestlemania, but it is still hard to treat Roman as an important figure in WWE. Fans react horrifically to all his appearances. The plodding main event had fans leaving Wrestlemania early. Reigns has great talent, but he will never be a huge star under his current direction. Hopefully WWE realizes his current tweener gimmick can take him into a strong heel turn to get him solidly set as a top player in the company. (10/6)
5. The New Day: Big E, Kofi and Xavier might be victims of their own success. They have been left with few unbeaten opponents in the still remarkably strong tag team division. The current tag tournament should help them find new opponents. Personally, I think it's time for the team to lose the belts. WWE would be far wiser to move the group into solo feuds, though without breaking up a unit that often brings the most entertainment value to any episode of Raw. (3/6)
6. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady: Enzo and Cass finally debuted on the main roster the night after Wrestlemania. Of all the talents that are new to the roster right now, they are clearly the most over by leaps and bounds. The two men seem poised to take the roster by storm in the same way The New Day did exactly a year ago. I suspect we will see a successful tag team run for both men in the coming months, even if it doesn't come with an immediate title shot. (U/1)
7. Kevin Owens: Back in prize fighter without a prize mode, KO still commands attention on every appearance. The brutality shown between him and Zayn seems ready to ignite into a massive feud between both men. If played right, WWE could build either man to main event status in a matter of weeks. (6/6)
8. Cesaro: The Swiss Superman returned to WWE the night after Wrestlemania and instantly set himself up as a strong contender for the best talent on the roster. WWE realizes they have a great star with the King of Swing, but they still seem unsure of the direction he should go in. With a Intercontinental title shot in his future, he could easily bring some prestige to the belt, especially if they allow him to showcase his talents the way Cena did with his open challenges. (U/1)
9. Sami Zayn: The Zayniacs have to be overjoyed at the attention Sami has received in WWE. He had a great showing at his first Wrestlemania, and eight days later he had a barnburner of a match with the number one wrestler for the number one contendership. The company clearly understands they have a strong talent with Zayn, but it remains to be seen if he will follow the career path of Cesaro and Ambrose, never quite able to break into the main event scene. (U/1)
10. AJ Styles: WWE has a hot ticket with AJ Styles and it seems the company realizes it. Coming off his New Japan run, Styles has put on amazing WWE match after amazing WWE match. After two wins in two matches, he has secured his place as number one contender. My only fear right now is that WWE might pull a heel turn for Styles soon to form some kind of WWE version of the Bullet Club. I think it could only be called a mistake to turn Styles heel now, at the height of his babyface popularity. And the real question may be if WWE is actually willing to allow Styles to beat Reigns, perhaps the ultimate example of an outside talent beating the established WWE star. (4/3)

The new number one contender is currently the hottest star on the WWE roster.
Image credit: WWE.com.

As a reminder, the twin number rankings for the wrestlers list their previous ranking on the list (a U means they were unlisted) and the number of lists the wrestler has appeared on in a row.

Wrestlemania 32 can only be looked at with disappointment

I had high hopes going into Wrestlemania 32. Last year's show had a lackluster card on paper, but it delivered quality wrestling match after match. This year the show started with a big surprise and ended with a resounding thud.

More than a few fans felt like Stardust after 7 hours of mostly mediocre action.
Image credit: WWE.com.

The seven way Intercontinental title match opened the show as it did last year. Ladder strikes and crazy stunts ensued and fans quickly were reminded why ladder matches are always fun. Sin Cara's plunge outside onto Stardust is the stuff of highlight reels. And Zack Ryder's win, even if he would lose the title only a day later, definitely goes down as a shocking Wrestlemania moment. Unfortunately, it was the last one for quite some time.

Chris Jericho and AJ Styles put on another barnburner of a one on one match, with AJ's entrance being one of the first to really make the special stage look awesome. They went longer than the IC match and used every minute of it well, but ultimately it ended with Styles taking the loss in a strange booking decision. He and Jericho are now 2 and 2 in their series, so I expect a rubber match sometime in the near future, maybe even before Styles gets his title shot at Payback.

The Top 10 Wrestlers of WWE, February 2016

Another pay-per-view and the big Raw after it have both fallen into the past and that means it is time to take a look at the Top 10 Wrestlers in WWE for the month. It has been an interesting month filled with weird pushes and negative reactions, culminating in a Fastlane card with solid in ring action but poor storytelling. Coming from that, here is this writer's choices for the best ranked wrestlers in the company. As a reminder, the rankings are followed by a two number code. The first number is their listing in the last Top 10 while the second number is the number of lists they've been on.

Kevin Owens continues to be a key player in WWE's midcard.
Image credit: WWE.com.

The Top 10 Wrestlers of WWE, January 2016 edition

Another pay-per-view is in the rear view and that can only mean one thing: it is time to look at the top wrestlers of the last month in WWE.

Image credit: WWE.com.

1. The League of Nations: Previously listed individually, the unit of Sheamus, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio are actually coming together nicely as a team. They probably should start picking up wins though if they are going to be treated as anything other than jobbers though. (7/3)
2. The Wyatt Family: They dominated Brock Lesnar on Raw and at the Royal Rumble. Bray Wyatt and his proteges even have stood up to the face of The Authority. It is an intriguing time for the cult-like stable, one that should lead them to higher places on this list before year's end.  (2/4)
3. Kevin Owens: He lost to Dean Ambrose and was booted from the Rumble by Sami Zayn, but Owens looked like a million bucks at the paye-per-view nonetheless, even eliminating newcomer AJ Styles. Hopefully Owens/Styles will be on WWE television very soon as it could potentially blow the roof off the house. (8/4)
4. Sasha Banks: She made a (Banks) statement at Royal Rumble and hopefully set up a three or four way Divas match at Wrestlemania in the process. One can expect a compelling title match between her and Charlotte at Fastlane, but whether or not WWE is ready for the title to change hands yet remains to be seen. (10/2)
5. Charlotte: Her heel turn and alliance with dear old dad has lit a fire under her that hasn't been seen since her days as NXT Women's Champion. She has put on great performances against Becky Lynch that hopefully will set up something great in the next two months with feuds against Becky, Sasha, Paige or maybe even... Bayley! (6/3)
6. The New Day: While Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods may not have had as strong a January as they have previous months, interactions with the Rock and another win over the Usos have kept them in the spotlight. (3/4)
7. AJ Styles: Just the mention of his name gets a bigger pop than anyone else on the roster. Styles in WWE is huge news and he's already made an impact with a great Royal Rumble performance and a solid win over Chris Jericho, one of several first time ever matches coming from Styles on the roster. (U/1)
8. Roman Reigns: WWE booked him to get booed at Royal Rumble, but were at least smart enough not to bring the match down to just him and Triple H. He is currently walking a fine line right now. He's got the talent to get over, but WWE's willingness to push him down everyone's throats may end up costing them any chance to get him over as a babyface. (1/4)
9. Dean Ambrose: After an amazing performance in the Last Man Standing match to kick off Royal Rumble, he put on a stellar show in the final match as well. Ambrose has everything but the company's backing to get over as a major star the world over. He seems destined to be stuck in the Shawn Michaels role from '91 to '95, where it seemed like he can never quite get to the title. (4/2)
10. Triple H: I had doubts I would ever put his name on this list, but now he's debuting as number one and the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. While I am not sure having him win was really what was best for business going into Wrestlemania, he put on a strong showing in the Rumble and seems poised to once again waste ten to twenty minutes at the front of Raw for months to come. (U/1)

Expect to see this a lot in the coming weeks. Image credit: WWE.com.

The Royal Rumble in review

WWE knew from the get go that this year was built around the main event even more than previous years. With nearly an hour and fifteen minutes devoted to the Royal Rumble itself, the other matches were treated more like lead up than anything else. Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose put on a compelling Last Man Standing match while Kalisto shocked Alberto Del Rio yet again to become a two time United States champion. The New Day pulled out a win over the Usos while Ric Flair's interference yet again allowed Charlotte to beat Becky Lynch. In fact, the only really interesting thing to happen on the undercard was the return of Sasha Banks to absolutely brutalize Charlotte post-match.

This was a beautiful thing to see after the Divas match.
Image credit: WWE.com.

But the story of the night was really all about the Rumble. With Roman Reigns in at number one and defending his WWE World Heavyweight title in the process, he had everything to lose against 29 other men. But after eliminating the #2 entrant Rusev, Reigns got his first big surprise of the night in the form of a man rumored to make his WWE debut for weeks now: AJ Styles.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

Styles wasn't the only surprise of the night however. While he was eliminated a bit earlier than one might expect, by none other than Kevin Owens (who awesomely mocked Styles' pose after the throw out), Owens had his own run ins after already taking a beating in the Last Man Standing match that kicked off the show. First Dean Ambrose followed immediately after his entry, then Sami Zayn made his return to the WWE roster to eliminate his rival from a shot at the WWE title.

The League of Nations attacked Roman Reigns mid-match in perhaps the dumbest mugging in the history of professional wrestling. They brutalized him three on one and put him through a table, but they didn't roll him back in the ring to be eliminated. Instead they let him walk to the back where he could rest up and recoup for the end of the event.

The combined Wyatt Family were not as foolish though. After Braun Strowman single handedly eliminated both Big Show and Kane, he ran head long into a Beast Incarnate. Brock Lesnar eliminated Strowman, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper before Bray Wyatt could even reach the ring, but he couldn't stop them from returning for a four on one beatdown. Even Lesnar couldn't take down the entire unit, who eliminated him en masse. Conveniently, his elimination also allowed both him and Reigns to never share the ring for even a second, sparing a future main event match.

To no one's surprise, the final surprise entrant was #30: Triple H. He followed #29 Sheamus, a man that was jumped by Roman Reigns on his return to the match. After Triple H entered, Dolph Ziggler was quickly thrown from the ring. With Sheamus still out, he tried to form an alliance with Wyatt, but the cult leader turned on the face of The Authority. Wyatt and Jericho wouldn't last much longer, but after Reigns dumps a returning Sheamus, Triple H grabs him from behind to dump him from the ring and eliminate Reigns' chance to retain his title.

It was down to two men: Dean Ambrose and Triple H. And if anyone has ever watched WWE, only one option for victory remained. Triple H eliminated Ambrose to become a fourteen time WWE World Heavyweight champion.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

While the end wasn't a surprise, the Rumble did accomplish a few things: it gave us a reason to root for Reigns come Wrestlemania as he challenges Triple H. It creates a compelling story to give us reason to watch Wyatt versus Lesnar. The situation between Owens and Zayn also sets up a potential match. Overall, this wasn't the best Royal Rumble ever, but it was far far from the worst. Fans didn't go away with the hatred and disappointment they were left with in 2014 and 2015, plus they were given reason to be intrigued by the road to Wrestlemania.

Sasha Banks: the greatest wrestler of 2015

Image credit: WWE.com.

When I wrote my own personal Top 20 list for 2015, only one name made sense to put on the top. Still I was worried that it was a name other people might not rate as highly as I did. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Sasha Banks was the greatest wrestler of 2015, hands down. She had a series of amazing matches on every NXT Takeover card but one. Her television matches on NXT and Raw never failed at giving at least a glimpse of how great she was, even when WWE seemed ready to relegate her to secondary shows and PPV pre-shows. Because you just can't keep greatness down.

And did I mention she's only 23?

ESO-PRO presents the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015: Honorable Mentions Part 6

As we prepare to reveal the wrestlers at number one and two later today and tomorrow, it is time to look at the final five wrestlers that didn't quite make it into our Top 10. These names might serve to throw a few people's guesses for those top two positions into disarray.

Image credit: NJPW.

15. Shinsuke Nakamura: I was the sole voter for Nakamura, but I strongly suspect that won't be the case in 2016. Easily one of the most gifted in ring competitors in the world today, he has a natural charisma that breaks all language barriers as well. The King of Strong Style has one of the fastest, hardest hitting styles in pro wrestling and matches between him and the likes of Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins would be dreams come true.

Bayley: #3 in the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015, presented by ESO-PRO

Image credit: WWE.com.

If you told me at the beginning of 2015 I would be writing a Top 10 post for Bayley at the end of the year, I would probably have scoffed at your idea. Going into the year, she was a distance fourth among the "Four Horsewomen" of NXT and coming out of the fatal four-way match that gave Sasha Banks her run with the title, she was injured and out of action. It didn't seem like 2015 would shape up to be a superb year for Bayley.

That changed as the company ramped up for NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. With Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks already on the main roster, Bayley beat both Becky and Charlotte on her road to challenging Sasha at the event. And oh, did she challenge Sasha. Many have called it arguably one of the best matches of 2015. I call Bayley and Sasha Banks' epic battle the match of 2015. The match featured every exciting spot the two women could concoct, but it also told a story of an underdog fighting to prove herself as the new top dog of NXT. When Bayley picked up the win, she not only won the title but also the legacy of being the final Horsewoman standing in NXT.

The Top 10 wrestlers of WWE, December 2015 edition

We close off the Top 10 lists for this week with another look at the stars of WWE and where they fall as the year ends and Royal Rumble season begins. Remember to keep these listings in mind while making your votes for the ten best wrestlers of the year.

And it all kicks off with someone that came in near the top of the NXT list earlier this year...

Image credit: WWE.com.

NXT Advent Calendar Day 11: Proof of NXT's power with the TLC card

One look at the TLC card shows exactly how far former NXT talent have came in WWE. Out of the twenty-three talents announced as wrestling on the card, a full thirteen of them have served as NXT regulars at some point in their careers. Of those thirteen, four are former tag team champions, two are former women's champions and two are former NXT champions.

Image credit: WWE.com.

So here is the rundown of the card from bottom to top and a few thoughts on the NXT talents involved.

Survivor Series continues the trend: solid but predictable

One thing that cannot be said about WWE pay-per-views in the last few months is that they have been particularly bad. 80 to 90 percent of each show generally offers some great wrestling and even the backstage antics have proven far more oriented towards the product than the cheap comedy of yesteryear. In the ring, performers are going all out like never before with some stellar matches.

But while the show gives you great wrestling, it doesn't give you much in the way of surprise. Part of the wow of big events is the "anything can happen" nature of the live event. But in the post-SummerSlam run it has tended to be easy to guess the outcome of each match. And while Hell in a Cell offered the surprise return of Alberto Del Rio, Survivor Series didn't come with a spectacular debut or a shocking finish to a match. In fact, the only surprise on the card at all was the return of Goldust to the active WWE roster and that happened on the preshow.

I'm hugely excited that Goldust is back, but his return isn't exactly earth
shattering new. Image credit: WWE.com.