From a Celtic Colossus to Zero Fear: the Top 100 Wrestlers of 2018 #15-11

Eighty-five wrestlers have come and gone on our countdown. Today we cut that list even more, as we close out the last five names before our Top 10!

Image credit: WWE.com.

15. Drew McIntyre

Ever since he made his return to the main roster after Wrestlemania, Drew McIntyre clearly seemed set for bigger things in WWE. His run in NXT felt odd, a short babyface title run in the main event ended by injury. But as Dolph Ziggler's ally and partner, he started to show a lot of the fire fans saw from him on the indies and in Impact. As poor a storytelling tool as it was for Braun, his alignment with McIntyre and Ziggler also increased the tag team's profile.

And while McIntyre ranks fifteenth this year, he could very well have a better 2019, as it seems clear he's being groomed to be one of the top heels for the company in the new year.

Image credit: WWE.com.

14. Daniel Bryan

Bryan's position at number fourteen on this list is an example of how much WWE can botch their storytelling. His return at Wrestlemania to team with Shane against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn should have lit a huge run for him. Instead he was mired in a feud with Big Cass in the aftermath, the purpose of which no one seems to understand. Though Cass took him out multiple times on television, their pay-per-view clashes were complete destruction for the big man. The last battle came with the news just hours later of Cass's release. Team Hell No made the Extreme Rules poster but their match started with an awful backstage angle and basically involved Bryan being beaten down by both men and slinking off from the tag division after the match.

Everyone thought the feud with The Miz would reignite the fire. Instead it felt like an average Kurt Angle feud in Impact with dirty trick shenanigans ending the matches instead of clever storytelling. His Crown Jewel match was moved to television after he refused to fly to Saudi Arabia and he lost the title to AJ Styles. Bryan's return was an absolute mess, leaving him as a lackluster upper midcarder.

But what a change a heel turn out of nowhere can make. Say what you will about WWE, but Smackdown offered a few brilliant storytelling points in the second half of the year and Bryan's heel turn to win the title was everything Shinsuke Nakamura's was not. Though he lost to Lesnar at Survivor Series, his heel role made that far more acceptable and he can enter 2019 on far more secure footing as Smackdown's top villain.

Cody and wife Brandi Rhodes, before his US title match at Wrestle Kingdom.
Image credit: @CodyRhodes on Twitter.

13. Cody

I'm personally a bit surprised at how high Cody made it on this list, until I remember that we might have a few old school NWA fans in this voting pool. He did have several significant matches over the year, but far less than he did in the previous year. Yet he made those matches count, with an ROH win over Kenny Omega, his US title victory over Juice Robinson and of course, his winning of the NWA title at ALL IN.

Of course if out of the ring achievements were part of this list, his production of ALL IN alongside the Bucks should have put him in a three way tie for first place. ALL IN proved a ton of naysayers wrong and helped increase the three men's cred enough to form an entire promotion around it in 2019.

That being said, Cody has promised he will miss a significant part of the early year with a desperately needed knee surgery, which puts a lot of his 2019 into question. But he's still in his early thirties, so his recovery should offer him a lot of years to keep doing what he does best and AEW could vary well reduce his schedule to a level that can maintain his health for years to come.

Image credit: WWE.com.

12. Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe is the teflon man of WWE. Because it doesn't seem to matter how many losses he's given, he still comes out with high marks and in a good position. Of course, a lot of that can be put to his brutality in the ring. Joe makes everything look real and painful. At 39 and 280 pounds, he still moves like a Cruiserweight a decade younger. The man can go.

And he certainly wrestled his share of great matches in 2018. In the matter of a few short weeks, he faced Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and AJ Styles. His feud with Styles would get highly personal as he would cut some of his best heel promos ever. After that feud though, his year seemed to fizzle as he left the Survivor Series match in short order and has since been mired in a go-nowhere feud with Jeff Hardy.

Joe may never make it to the World or Universal title, but it's clear he's placed to be a major player whenever WWE wants him to be. Honestly, that's a pretty great place to be right there.

Photo credit: Impact Wrestling on Twitter.

11. Penta El Zero M

Call him Penta El Ciero Miedo, Pentagon Jr, Pentagon Dark or just Pentagon, he's now a dominant force in professional wrestling. He entered the year as just a Lucha Underground star and an indie mainstay for places like AAW and PWG. But Alberto El Patron's own idiocy over Mania weekend cost him a job at Impact and opened a door for his scheduled opponents at the Impact / Lucha Underground crossover show he missed. Fenix and Pentagon both immediately made their presence known and in his second ever Impact match, Pentagon beat Austin Aries for the World title. He would drop it back to Aries soon enough, but he cemented a spot on the Impact main roster that has listed since. He's since feuded with Sami Callihan and OVE and the LAX.

After leaving AAA in somewhat controversial fashion in 2016, he returned to that company as well, with his Mexican bookings featuring him in The Crash, AAA and CMLL, basically every major company in the country.

And yet still his most significant appearance might be as one of the hired talents at ALL IN, where he faced off with Kenny Omega in a certified dream match. Though he failed to pick up the W, even more people now knew about Cero Miedo.

Pentagon and his brother Fenix have been rumored targets of WWE for months. But with AEW in the mix, it looks like Penta may have two major promotions looking to sign him very soon.

Post-Wrestlemania Weekend Thoughts

I have read a number of mixed reviews about Wrestlemania this weekend. Most have been positive for the most part. I don't like focusing on the negative myself, so I'll keep most of my thoughts on what I did like about the weekend.

Unlike previous weekends, I didn't take multiple days off nor did I make sure to purchase as many events as I could watch. I actually kept my viewing to three shows and three shows only: Lucha Underground vs. Impact Wrestling, NXT Takeover: New Orleans and Wrestlemania itself. While Bloodsport and Spring Break 2 both sounded epic, I'll have to check them out some other time.

Lucha Underground vs. Impact Wrestling

Image credit: Impact Wrestling.

• Impact Wrestling frequently gives away main event pay-per-view quality matches on television, so it's no surprise they did the same on Twitch on Friday night. The crossover event with the pay-per-view-less Lucha Underground made for some stellar battles. 
• The weakest match of the night was probably Eli Drake and Brian Cage, and it was pretty solid. The announce team failed completely to cover the history of the two men. They have been tag team partners off and on for over a decade, but though Eli brought it up, it was ignored completely by Mathews and Striker.
• Teddy Hart teaming with Scott Steiner is just plain weird. And the match itself felt out of place on the card that otherwise featured only crossover battles (even if some of the crossover stars are also Impact talents.)
• The tag match between LAX and the team of The Mack and Killshot was a bit sloppy, but those four men went hard, probably far harder than they needed to at their place on the card. 
• Eddie Edwards versus Jeremiah Crane was built pretty much as perfectly as an I Quit match at that point on the card could be built. This wasn't meant to be the end of the feud between Edwards and Callihan, so Don Callis ending things worked perfectly. These two have tons of chemistry and I honestly could watch this blood feud go on for several more months. 
• The loss of Alberto El Patron made the main event three way a far stronger match than it probably would have been. Though Aries, Fenix and Pentagon didn't pull out their full stop arsenals, I suspect their rematch now scheduled for Redemption will be epic.

NXT Takeover: New Orleans

Image credit: WWE.com.

• The card didn't have a bad match on it, but the opening bout really set the pace for a great night. While it does feel like EC3 and Ricochet's debuts were a bit wasted in the ladder match, it did everything it needed to do to make every man look like a million bucks.
• The women's title match was the weakest on the card, but was far better than the last battle between Shayna Baszler and Ember Moon. I was very happy to see Ember appear on Monday night because a fourth match in this series is the last thing NXT needs. Both are talented in-ring competitors, but they just don't quite click against one another.
• The tag match featured a bit in it that points out everything wrong with WWE booking. The Strong turn was a sensible move for The Undisputed Era, but  earlier in the match he attacked Kyle O'Reilly to keep him from getting the win. It made no sense for Strong to wait in order to betray Dunne if his true goal was to make sure Cole and O'Reilly retained.
• I hoped Andrade "Cien" Almas might make his Smackdown debut on Tuesday night. He didn't, which means we have a rematch coming between him and Aleister Black. Almas has shown why he was hired in 2017 and I suspect a third match between him and Black will only deliver again.
• Fight forever. Seriously, Gargano and Ciampa put on a great match and I hope the feud keeps going for a few more months.

Wrestlemania

• The pre-show battle royals were messes, but I think Matt Hardy and Naomi were both good choices for the winners.
• Mustafa Ali versus Cedric Alexander was good, but half of what their match a couple months ago on 205 Live was. They should have been given ten minutes and a chance to go all out.
• If the opening match had set the tone for the night, I'd have enjoyed Wrestlemania a lot more. The triple threat was a great trainwreck of a match between the three men. They should keep their feud going for quite awhile longer in my opinion.
• I can accept Asuka's streak ending at Charlotte's hand. I cannot accept it ending in only thirteen minutes. That match needed ten more minutes and it would have been talked about in the same breath as the two classic Sasha / Bayley NXT title matches.
• I hope the mixed tag proved most of the Rousey nay-sayers wrong. She is far from perfect in the ring, but she seems to be a natural much like her Four Horsewomen stablemate Shayna. 
• Daniel Bryan, Undertaker, and Nia Jax were all feel good moments, but I'm not sure why they were all on back to back. 
• I predicted AJ versus Shinsuke would end with a turn, but I expected AJ to be honest. I think this feud isn't over yet by a long shot, but I feel Shinsuke needs a new CHAOS if he's going to make it as a major WWE heel.
• Anyone that hated Nicholas Cone's tag title win hates fun. That's all I'll say about that match.
• The main event deserved most of the chants it got. It was slow and plodding, but in the main event position, it ended exactly the way it should have ended.

Post-Wrestlemania debuts

• I know Smackdown already has a packed roster, but they got three new talents on the roster versus the plethora Raw got. Paige, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are all perfect additions to Smackdown, but it's hard not to look at the show as WWE's b-product when Raw brought the return of Jeff Hardy and Lashley, plus the main roster debuts of Ember Moon, No Way Jose and the Authors of Pain. 
• Smackdown should have seen either Andrade Almas or Sanity appear. Hopefully, Sanity will debut after the Usos / Bludgeon Brothers match. 

For your consideration: 5 under the radar talents to look at for the 2017 Top 10

Every year I write a new lists of the Top 10 wrestlers of various promotions, but when the year comes to an end, I ike to remind folks of some of the great unsung talents as they start their own voting for the year end wrestlers. So here's a few talents I think may have flew under the radar but deserve recognition in 2017.

The days of Solomon Crowe are gone.

Sami Callihan. The former Solomon Crowe was Cody Rhodes before Cody Rhodes. He left WWE under his own volition and started to blow up independent wrestling with great match after great match. He's traveled around the world in 2017 and put on great matches in Lucha Underground (as Jeremiah Crane), New Japan, CZW, AAW, AIW and a lot of other acronyms.

Same goofy grin, though. 

Juice Robinson. The former CJ Parker was Cody Rhodes before Sami Callihan was Cody Rhodes. Juice left NXT because he saw the writing on the wall. His initial indie run post-NXT was lukewarm. But Juice took an invitation from New Japan, agreed to start again in their dojo and in a matter of a few short months started wrestling the best matches of his life. His 2017 was stupendous and I suspect his 2018 will be even better. Juice could prove to be the next Kenny Omega level gaijin talent in New Japan.

The Black and The Brave Academy's first graduate deserves a ton more recognition by the wrestling world. 

Connor Braxton. I hoped Iowa's own Braxton, a trainee of Seth Rollins and Marek Brave, would break out a bit more in 2017. An SCW regular locally, he's wrestled for WWN, House of Hardcore and AAW on a semi-regular basis. With great size, a great moveset and a good look he can be a huge star if he finds the right extra bit to get him more star attention. (I don't think the hoverboard will do it.)

Impact Wrestling still gets a few things right...

Mia Yim. Jade's career ended in TNA, but Mia continued to tear it up on the independent scene. Though she didn't go as deep in the Mae Young Classic as I would have liked, she still put on an impressive showing. Out with an injury now, she should have a strong 2018 on her return where hopefully the big boy promotions all start bidding for her services.

Jeff and his evil alter ego... together?

Jeff Cobb. A hoss is a hoss, of course, of course. Cobb may not be the biggest wrestler ever, but he's one of the strongest. Guam's resident star took the indies by storm in 2017, going from PWG and California indies to wrestling pretty much everywhere in the world. Most of his exposure might come under a mask and a blood soaked jumpsuit, but as Matanza or as a 2004 Olympic wrestler turned pro, he's one of the most talented guys in the game. And the Slamfest may be one of the most impressive moves in professional wrestling.

What do Lucha Underground and Wrestling Weekday have in common?

Much like the best hour of wrestling every week, The Wrestling Weekday finally returns after too long a hibernation. And while Lucha Underground went off the air to extend Season Three throughout 2017 to stretch out the show's run (and possibly several talents' contracts), this site disappeared while I worked on other projects, from a Kickstarter to a move from my house of too many years.

But with the return of Wednesday night's top show (sorry, NXT), it felt like the perfect time to bring out a few thoughts on the big return.

And it certainly was a big return: the second ever All Night Long (a.k.a. Iron Man Match) between Lucha Underground champion Johnny Mundo and a man that once was fired from WWE before he could make a single appearance: The Mack. The man sometimes known as Willie Mack showed why WWE failed miserably by letting him go as despite his size and build, he put on an epic battle with the leader of the Worldwide Underground.

Of course, Morrison used his fair share of cheap shots, weapons and his allies in the Worldwide Underground. The Mack gained some aide from the Underground's foe Son of Havoc and his friend (and former champion) Sexy Star, but Mack's own need to destroy Mundo ultimately lead to a draw... and potentially a second All Night Long match in a row.

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

But really what the match, no matter how overbooked it may or may not have been (and what kind of 40 minute LU match isn't overbooked?), it served to prove why Mundo and Mack deserve all the success they have received in this promotion. Mundo and Mack are world class competitors and I for one am glad to see them get a forum for their talents.

This is far from the end for either men's careers. Here's hoping either in Lucha Underground or elsewhere both these men get all the accolades they both deserve for many years to come.

The Top 10 Wrestlers of the Lucha Underground midseason break

Season Three of Lucha Underground went on hiatus last week, sending fans such as myself into aching fits of pain at the thought of four or five months without weekly lucha action. But with the show going into reruns for the next several weeks, reportedly due to tapings for Season four being delayed until late 2017 or early 2018, it seems like a fine time to look at the top ten wrestlers in Lucha Underground as the break hit.

Image credit: Lucha Underground. 

1. (tie) Dragon Azteca Jr. / Pentagon Dark: It was incredibly difficult to choose a number ten spot on this list. But two wrestlers have made great strides this year in Lucha Underground at the hands of a massive defeat. Both Dragon Azteca and Pentagon Dark were written off by brutal attacks. Azteca went through the bleachers for a several feet fall while Pentagon suffered broken arms from both Black Lotus and Azteca. Both men seem likely to come back with a stronger push later in season three. (Pentagon: 8/2)
2. Cage: Winning the best of five series cemented Cage as a man to watch in Lucha Underground and even succeeded in setting Texano on a new path. His gauntlet and his ongoing possession by the dark god held within may be the most unique wrestling story currently on television. (6/2)
3. Mil Muertes: He has continued to have brutal matches in Lucha Underground, but the present of Puma has left him more vulnerable than ever before. But he still possesses immense destructive capability. Just ask Vampiro. (10/2)
4. Snake Tribe: The Trios title seems to slowly be heading towards the chosen title for the rising seven Aztec tribes in the promotion. The most dominant of these tribes is clearly the Snakes as Kobra Moon has led Pindar and Vibora into devastating wins. With Drago clearly swayed by her power, they may prove unstoppable in coming months. (-/0)
5. Sexy Star: It is hard to look as good in defeat as Sexy Star. Although she didn't regain the title, she clearly is positioned as one of the top babyfaces in the company in the coming months. (2/2)
6. Matanza Cueto: The Monster is still the most dominant wrestler in the ring, but he clearly has shown he's got a weakness to one man. (4/2)
7. Jeremiah Crane: His wins may be coming due to storyline reasons as much as anything else but Crane clearly is being positioned for an important role in the ongoing Lucha Underground storyline, especially with his history with Catrina and Mil Muertes still coming to light. (-/0)
8. Rey Mysterio: He just returned on the final episode from the break but his domination of Matanza post-match clearly marks him as a massive star in Lucha Underground's continued success. (-/0)
9. Johnny Mundo: Mundo has been the most dominant figure in Lucha Underground storylines this year, but it has come at the expense of making him even a dirtier player than ever before. But his three victories over Sexy Star mark him as the man to beat and his in ring endurance will again be tested by an All Night Long match when the show returns. (1/2)
10. The Mack: He won the Battle of the Bulls tournament and has put a massive hurting on the entire Worldwide Underground. Not since Stone Cold Steve Austin has someone stuck it to the powers that be quite as hard as The Mack is in his storyline against Mundo. He might not win the title when the show returns, but he's cemented himself as one of the strongest babyfaces in professional wrestling today. (7/2)

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

Johnny Mundo: #10 Wrestler of 2016

Last year, I was allowed to write some great pieces on two of my Lucha Underground favorites, Prince Puma and Pentagon Jr. (now Pentagon Dark.) This year, only one Lucha Underground performer made the Top 10, but he's a talent familiar to many fans and one that truly did have his best year in wrestling in 2016.

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

You might know him as Johnny Nitro or John Morrison, but to me he's definitely Johnny Mundo.

While not all of his 2016 appearances on Lucha Underground television were actually filmed in 2016, the calendar year cannot be looked at as anything other than impressive for the Mayor of Slamtown. He opened the year with a win over Dragon Azteca, Prince Puma and Rey Mysterio for the Lucha Underground Trios title. Though he lost them at Ultima Lucha Dos, he went on to beat Sexy Star for the Gift of the Gods title, again for the Lucha Underground title (which she won only a week before during Aztec Warfare III) and a final time to retain her title. He didn't manage any of those wins without sly tactics, but Mundo is a world class heel by any measurable rights.

His success cannot be pointed out without also talking about his Trios tag partners Jack Evans, the long time indie star that's years in Mexico are finally paying off with some great work on American television, and PJ Black, the former Justin Gabriel and now "Darewolf", another talent showing he was so much more talented than WWE ever let him give fans. Perhaps his most amazing ally is Taya, the Canadian wrestler turned veteran luchadora. She's been a true revelation in the last two seasons of Lucha Underground, almost as much as Mundo's career renaissance.

Mundo's only issues in Lucha Underground now is a lack of depth remaining in his opponents. He's wrestled almost every tecnico in the company and a decent number of the rudos as well. But Lucha Underground is always about surprises and I suspect he'll bring a few more in 2017.

Tomorrow we continue the list with the first repeat talent from last year's list, a man that continued an impressive run towards the top of his promotion in 2016.

Lucha Underground Top 10

Lucha Underground has been a favorite of mine for years now, but I have never featured it in a Top 10 until today. Why? Because the weekly storytelling of the show makes it a bit harder to work out a list of the ten stars that consistently should rank as the highest in my viewpoints. But I want to share my picks here as fans continue to turn in their votes for the top wrestlers of the year. So without any more ado, let's go straight into the top ten wrestlers of Lucha Underground!

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

1. Mil Muertes: The man of a thousand deaths is a dominant force still in Lucha Underground, but he still seems to be missing a lot of the drive he possessed in the first two seasons. Already out of the latest tournament, he may be on a collision course with the returning Prince Puma soon.
2. Drago, Fenix and Aerostar: Though the reigning Trios champions are still dominant in their division, the Trios titles seem to have received a demotion this year. With Kobra Moon aligning forces against Drago, that could change. We may be in store for a war between the Snake Tribe and the Trios champions for several weeks to come. 
3. Pentagon Dark: Another man left rudderless (and off television) after his attack on Dragon Azteca and Black Lotus last season bit him in the rear this one. With two broken arms he's likely to miss the next ten episodes or so, which could jeopardize any more appearances on this list for some time.
4. The Mack: I'm still not sure why he's never really been given a driven storyline, but even as the friend of Sexy Star he's shined. He seems poised to become a stronger player in the company as Season Three continues, but he remains a match away from really accomplishing anything of importance.
5. Cage: The best of five series with Texano seems to move at a glacial pace, but Cage still seems to be the dominant force of the two hosses. He seems poised to have a bigger storyline going ahead on the show, especially if the demonic possession hinted at earlier in the season comes to be.
6. Black Lotus Triad: Doku, Yurei and Hitokiri backed up Black Lotus and allowed for a great set of matches with Pentagon Dark that left him broken. With Black Lotus herself still limited in the ring, this is the perfect way to continue her progression on television.
7. Matanza Cueto: He may have lost the Lucha Underground title, but he's still an absolute monster. With his brother losing control of him, he may become more terrifying without the title than he was for his full season with it. 
8. Rey Mysterio: The company treats him like their biggest star and everyone of his matches has been high profile. They have smartly kept him away from the title picture, but now he seems on a collision course with Matanza that could leave both men broken.
9. Sexy Star: She won Ultima Lucha to become the Lucha Underground championship only to have it taken away from her only days later by the Worldwide Underground. But Sexy is still poised to be a top star in the company, even if her time with Lucha Underground might be coming to an end sooner rather than later, much as her time in AAA has.
10. Johnny Mundo: Though he might not be where he is without the Worldwide Underground backing him, Mundo has put on some of the best matches of his career in Lucha Underground. He's proven himself to be a top star and here's hoping he continues to shine as the show continues through into the second half of the current season. 

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

National Day of Lucha Libre: The battle of the Lucha Underground alter egos

King Cuerno and Mil Muertes are two of only a handful of Mexican talents in Lucha Underground with a different identity in Mexico. While Americans might not have as much knowledge of El Hijo Del Fantasma and might only remember Ricky Banderas from cups of coffee in Wrestling Society X and TNA, they certainly got to see both men at their most battle hardened during Ultima Lucha Dos.

National Day of Lucha Libre: Aerostar, Drago and Fenix in action!

Aerostar, Drago and Fenix are the only team to ever be Lucha Underground Trios Champions and Chikara King of Trios, yet they never found quite as much success in their native Mexico. But they could still put on great matches. Here's one against Zorro, Cuervo and Scoria.

Not a long wait for Lucha Underground Season 3

Image credit: Lucha Underground on social media

Almost six months separated the first and second seasons of Lucha Underground. But with the show finding more success and selling more merchandise, El Rey doubled down with Season 3, especially with the potential of much of its roster disappearing after the season ends. (The majority of talent have a three year exit clause in their contract.) They solved that problem by bringing Season 3 back earlier, less than a month away on September 7th. It also gives us a 40 episode season that will take us all the way through next summer!

Just like between the previous two seasons, they also gave a great preview of the new show, even though every time I see the logo, I keep thinking "what does miedo have to do with anything?" before I realize they're going for the three fingers, not Spanish for "fear".

Looks like Johnny Mundo, Drago, Sexi Star, Kobra Moon, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Katrina all have large roles to play, but I'm sure the show will balance that with the plethora of talents they have from top to bottom.

Check out the full video below.

Lucha Underground returns with style

This past Wednesday, Lucha Underground returned with all the flair it set up in season one for a revitalized, more focused season two on El Rey Network. The television based project has been truly unique among wrestling companies, focused solely on making what has already been called by some (including myself) as some of the very finest televised wrestling ever made. The Temple is a set unique in its own right and the cast of luchadores that populate it are some of the best professional wrestlers anywhere in the world.

Season Two picks up with the reopening of the Temple, now controlled by Catrina. Her chosen champion Mil Muertes sits in judgment over the roster, high in his throne atop the Temple, watching over the action. But he also joined the action on Wednesday night as well.

Mil Muertes sits in judgment over the temple. Image credit: Lucha Underground.

The show kicked off with Vampiro in a mental hospital, recovering from the break that brought him into an unholy war with Pentagon Jr at the end of season one. Matt Striker pulls him from his stay and invites him back to the reopened Temple, now far darker under the controls of Catrina, Mil and the Disciples of Death.

The action kicks off with Fenix defending his Gift of the Gods title in a match that came to a shocking end. In a highly competitive battle with King Cuerno, the nefarious hunter played things fair and straight, winning a clean encounter with Fenix and taking the title that offers an automatic title shot against Mil Muertes. But it seemed a fix was in, as Cuerno has cut some kind of deal with Catrina to protect Mil from the Gift of the Gods title being used against him.

The second of the evening's three matches brought the former Trios champions back, but Catrina pitted them against one another for a shot at Mil Muertes' Lucha Underground title in the main event of the evening. Angelico, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse all wanted a shot at the gold, but it was ultimately the scrappy Puerto Rican that beat her two male comrades to earn her shot against Mil.

But any thought of aid against the numbers game wasn't to come for Ivelisse. The Disciples of Death appeared and swarmed the ring, beating down Son of Havoc and Angelico and dragging them from The Temple floor. A tired Ivelisse was forced to fight the fresh Mil on her own. She fought valiantly but her size, her lost stamina and interference by Catrina were enough to allow Mil to pick up the win and retain his belt.

But Catrina wasn't done with her nemesis. She ordered Mil to decimate Ivelisse with another flatliner. Before that could happen though, Prince Puma made his return, knocking Mil away and escaping the ring with Ivelisse safe. Yet, Prince Puma did not come against the combined forces of Catrina alone.

As The Temple went insane, Pentagon Jr hit the ring and laid out Mil with a backstabber. As the chants of Cero Miedo rang down on the ring, he used his Fujiwara armbar to snap the arm of the Lucha Underground champion in the middle of the ring.

It was a show that was hard not to feel goosebumps by the hour's end. And that is the power of Lucha Underground. It's an hour of compelling television every week wrapped up by some of the best wrestling action on the planet. The action is intense and the storytelling never fails to shine through.

And even as the show came to an end, Dario Cueto and Black Lotus made their return with their own alternate Temple, one that seems designed to feed the bloodlust of Matanza. What this means for Catrina's future or the future of the true Temple will surely be revealed as the new season continues over the winter and spring.

Catch Lucha Underground every Wednesday on El Rey Network. Non-cable subscribers (like yours truly) can watch it every week through the Sling service, which also gives free replays of past episodes.

POP is good for TNA, but is it enough?

Drew Galloway is just one of several stars with a huge upside for TNA, but
only if TNA spends the time to book them as the hot young talent they are.

The first two episodes of Impact Wrestling on POP TV offered solid wrestling entertainment with some solid talents whether it be from veteran Kurt Angle, journeyman Drew Galloway or TNA originals like Bobby Roode and James Storm (now reunited as Beer Money.) The company seems to be forming a talent pool that will support them moving forward, framed around Ethan Carter III, the former Derrick Bateman who has become a true superstar since his move to the closest thing WWE has to a competitor.

But despite strong matches from the above plus the likes of the Beautiful People, The Dollhouse, The Wolves, Tigre Uno and more, the company still seems scared of innovation. The focus in the main event continues to be a younger homegrown star versus an industry veteran, even when that veteran is as past his prime as Matt Hardy.

And because of their lack of innovation with their cast, it often feels like much of their talent isn't all that important. Sure EC3, the Hardys and Angle are huge stars, but everyone else ends up feeling like they're just filler for the stuff TNA management cares about. An excessive focus on the main event picture has been a problem in WWE sometimes as well, but two weeks into the new show, every thing not involving the four men above just seems thrown together.

The sad part is that it doesn't have to be this way. They've got Dave Lagana on the writing staff alongside Billy Corgan. He has a history of crafting solid scripted television, the kind of clever writing that Lucha Underground has every week. While the title holders may not even be featured on every episode, the writers behind Lucha Underground understand that making sure every feud they develop feels important, whether it belongs at the bottom of the card or at the top. They fill the rest of the show with multi-talent matches or create random challenges thrown out by owner Dario Cueto to keep the progression moving. It's simple booking, but when the focus is quality weekly serialized television, it helps Lucha Underground surpass Raw and Impact Wrestling in quality almost every week.

I'm not saying that TNA can ape that style perfectly, but restoring the focus on simple storytelling surrounding great in ring action won't hurt the company. Coupled with a few smart moves in who to push and TNA could rise from the ashes yet again. The balls in their court.

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.

ESO-PRO presents the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015: Honorable Mentions Part 5

As we get closer to revealing the top wrestler of 2015, I just wanted to remind everyone to keep their eye out for the return of ESO-PRO: The Pro Wrestling Podcast. I was a member of the original incarnation of the show, but John Morgan Neal will soon be presenting a reanimated ESO-PRO in 2015 with a wide variety of guests. Keep an eye out for it at the ESO site.

Today we run down the wrestlers ranked twentieth to fifteen on the list.

Xavier Woods greatly increased his profile with his Youtube series.

20. Xavier Woods: While his compatriots in the New Day ranked in at #5 and #8, Xavier Woods spent most of 2015 serving alternately as the team's spoiler and jobber. He lost the titles to the Prime Time Players in one of his few defenses, but he also helped Big E and Kofi win them back at SummerSlam. And while he hasn't got anywhere close to the number of wins his allies have, he's been solid in the ring and on the sidelines, where he's been trombone playing comedy gold. He's also shown how to diversify his career as the host of the new Up Up Down Down Youtube show.

ESO-PRO presents the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015: Honorable Mentions Part 3

We continue to look at the people that didn't quite get enough votes to make it to the top spot on the Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015 list. Today we look at the four wrestlers that came in rated #27 to 30.

Image credit: WWE.com.

30. Summer Rae: When I started this list on Monday, I mentioned one name I felt was undeserving of being on it. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Summer Rae. While she has been a solid managerial figure in WWE and did her best to liven up a miserable feud between Dolph Ziggler and Rusev that went on months past its expiration date, her wrestling matches on episodes of Superstars and Main Event have been anything but impressive. I actually had to verify she wrestled at all in 2015 as that's how little a mark she made as an in ring talent. But Joe Crowe ranked her as the fourth best wrestler of the year, saying “In her fights with Lana, it looked like she killed her twice, by knocking her off a chair, and then bending her 90 degrees with an Accolade. She helped Xavier play his trombone, and skeeved out when Dean Ambrose almost dived onto her. She delivered bits of fun all year.” And while I personally don't believe she ranks anywhere above the likes of Mia Yim, Ivelisse, Paige or Bray Wyatt, this list is nothing if not democratic, so welcome to it Summer Rae.

Image credit: AAA.

29. Drago: He's a real life dragon that wrestles. As Joe Crowe puts it describing his exit on the Lucha Underground season finale: “Did he just leave the Lucha Underground temple by transforming into a dragon? Yes. Yes, he did. ” Seriously, Drago may have the best gimmick in all of professional wrestling. He put on amazing matches in every appearance on Lucha Underground, from his best of five series with Aerostar to his title match against Prince Puma to his hardcore battle with Hernandez. Only a handful of talents had a better year in the Temple than he did.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

27. (2 way tie) Sting: He only wrestled three matches in 2015 and two of those were losing efforts, but his profile was huge as he took on Triple H and Seth Rollins. And while his in ring career may very well be over after a vicious buckle bomb by Rollins, Sting finally showed that he had all the ability in the world to main event in WWE even at 56.

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

27. (2 way tie) Mil Muertes: Richard Evans was the only person to choose Muertes and you can see his comments in his own article, but just for the gimmick alone, the masked Ricky Banderas deserves to be on this list. While Banderas certainly used supernatural gimmicks during his runs in Wrestling Society X and TNA, it wasn't until Lucha Underground put a mask on him and paired him with Catrina that he finally was allowed to shine as a "1000 Deaths". He dominated the end of Lucha Underground and his feud with Fenix was the stuff of legend.

The honorable mentions return on Monday with a look at some of NXT's top talents, one of Ring of Honor's hottest new star and a man heavily in the news in the first few weeks of 2016!

Prince Puma: #7 in the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015, presented by ESO-PRO

Image credit: Lucha Underground.

Few names had as varied a 2015 as the first ever Lucha Underground Champion Prince Puma. While he dominated the main event of the Temple from Aztec Warfare until Ultima Lucha, he also spread his wings under his original unmasked identity as Ricochet. In addition to Lucha Underground, he regularly worked in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, EVOLVE, Dreamwave, multiple English promotions, long time Japanese home Dragon Gate and his new Japanese home promotion of New Japan. Not bad for a 27 year old kid from Paducah, Kentucky.

ESO-PRO presents the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015: Honorable Mentions Part 2

As the list gets ready to debut #8 later today, it is time to take a look at some of the other talent that didn't quite make it into the top ten. Today we will cover the wrestlers that came in between thirty-first and thirty-fifth place.

Image credit: WWE.com.

35. (2 way tie) Paige: While 2015 wasn't quite as solid as 2014 for Paige, she continued to be a dominant force in the Divas division, even though she spent most of the year chasing Nikki Bella for the title. She sparked the Diva Revolution in many ways thanks to her non-traditional style in the ring.

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

Image credit: AAA.

"Yo soy Pentagon Jr. Cero Miedo!"

He held no titles in Lucha Underground and in fact never even received a title shot during his first season of the promotion. But it is hard to argue that he comes out of season one as the company's biggest star.

The Top 4 Wrestlers of 2015

I debated doing a rundown of the best matches but once I realized the massive number of matches I've watched since getting back into wrestling this year, I knew that was going to be to be WAY too much work. So instead I've broken it down to the top 4 wrestlers of the year, all of whom will have matches in the top ten lists across the internet.

#4 MIL MUERTES

It's not often you come across a wrestler who can be compared to the Undertaker, but if there is one way to describe Mil Muertes, it is as Luchador Undertaker.  The highlight reel doesn't even do the match justice, go out and find this full match, as it is probably the greatest casket match in history. Lucha Underground is far ahead of the WWE in many ways and this match clearly shows you why.
Mil appeared in Lucha Underground and conquered and his story is definitely one of the most interesting of 2015.

Trios champions are crowned in Lucha Underground

The Trios title in Lucha Underground created some great teams and introduced some awesome talents to the brand (like Killshot and The Mack), but the story was really all about the mismatched team of Angelico, Son of Havoc and Ivelisse. But even as they thought the titles were theirs, one more team came in to spoil the fun: Dario Cueto's chosen unit of The Crew.

But the dysfunctional team wasn't going to give up with a fight and the result was some of the most epic action in a wrestling arena.