Looking back: The top 10 wrestlers of 2015

With votes now open for the Top 10 wrestlers of 2016, I thought it would be convenient to look back at the ten wrestlers that topped the list in 2015. It was an interesting list, featuring two Lucha Underground standouts, four WWE midcarders, an NXT wrestler and a recent WWE graduate who barely accomplished anything on the main roster that year. Yet, I can think of few lists as representative of the great talent of 2015 as this one. So without more ado, here's the list of some great talent. Click on each name to read their full entry.

1. Pentagon Jr.: I ranked him much higher, but Pentagon Jr. deserved to be near the top of any list he was on for his work in Lucha Underground.
2. Cesaro: Few talents are as consistent as the Swiss Superman.
3. Kofi Kingston: The New Day rose to fame in 2015, but even I was a bit surprised by Kofi's high placing. I actually personally placed him below Xavier Woods, who just barely missed the list. 
4. Prince Puma: Rather as Puma or Ricochet, he put on some great matches in 2016 in both Lucha Underground and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
5. John Cena: It's not that often that an IWC site would rank Cena so high, but few people could argue how good Cena was during his United States title reign.
6. Big E: No one emerged with as much flair as part of The New Day as Big E. He showed why he deserves a main event push sooner rather than later last year. Hopefully 2017 is the year of Big E..
7. Seth Rollins: Iowa's own Seth Rollins dominated the main event picture of WWE and put on some great matches to boot. 
8. Bayley: Fact: There was no greater babyface in wrestling in 2015 than Bayley. 
9. Kevin Owens: He was already an indie superstar, but Owens took NXT then WWE by storm in 2015. 
10. Sasha Banks: I don't think anyone put on as many great matches in 2015 as Sasha. Sadly her 2016 might not have been quite as bright, but she's still easily one of the most talented wrestlers in the world today.

Big E: #5 in the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015, presented by ESO-PRO

Image credit: WWE.com. 

Since Wrestlemania, it's hard to argue that The New Day have consistently been the most entertaining part of Raw week after week. Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and a trombone have all had amazing moments, but the true star of the show has been Big E. With his preacher-style presentation, crazy lines and always impressive in ring skill, he is easily one of the top up-and-coming stars in WWE.

Long time viewers of NXT knew exactly how great Big E can be on the microphone and followers of him on social media know that he's just plain crazy much of the time. As Lauren Price puts it in her nomination: “Glad that New Day has given a chance to show his personality and wit on the main roster vs being stuck as someone’s silent bodyguard.”

Kofi Kingston: #8 in the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015, presented by ESO-PRO

For me, Kofi Kingston is probably best remembered as the poor man that died at the hands of Brock Lesnar on July 4th in Tokyo.

As part of The New Day, Kofi had a stellar 2015. When the year opened, the group was barely on television, a bunch of babyfaces being booed out of the building as they clapped like merry fools. But post-Wrestlemania, they turned heel. After beating Cesaro and Tyson Kidd for the tag team titles, Kofi, Big E and Xavier Woods dominated the tag team picture for the rest of 2015, wrestling at every pay-per-view for the rest of the year (even if they lost the belts for a short period to the Prime Time Players, though in a match not involving Kofi.)

The New Day are the best thing going!

Image Credit: WWE.com.

It's hard not to acknowledge how good Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods have been in the last several months. Since their post-Wrestlemania push, they have done everything in their power to get over as a grating but well oiled unit built around taking titles and pushing their own cause to the masses.

Look no further than their most recent campaign, the important #SaveTheTables campaign.

Introducing the WWE Top 10!

I like Top 10 lists because I am someone that enjoys being on the internet regularly. The internet may in fact be about half list at this point, but as this blog has developed, I felt it was important to have a way to express who I feel are the important players in WWE and the other corners of wrestling for any given month. Because of this, I have conceived a regular Top 10 list for every Wednesday, starting today. WWE will receive a list the week after every major pay-per-view, while NXT, TNA, ROH, Japan, the indies and Lucha Underground will all see lists filling the spaces in between. So stay tuned for a look for the countdown every week starting right now, with your WWE Top 10.

The Cosmic Wasteland has elevated Stardust's game. Image credit: WWE.com.

The Dudley Boyz return is exactly what the WWE Tag Team division needs

Last night on Raw, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley returned to lay out WWE Tag Team champions The New Day in classic fashion. It was a huge surprise on a very solid episode of RAW, and it revitalizes the tag team division in a matter of seconds.

Just over a full decade after their last appearance at One Night Stand 2005, the Dudley Boyz immediately took up where they left off against Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman. They took out Kofi Kingston and Big E, before delivering a Wassup and a 3D to Xavier Woods. After a staredown with Titus O'Neil and Darren Young, they left the ring to the cheers of fans.

Xavier Wood gets a 3D through the table. Image credit: WWE.com.

Beast In the East and Weekly Review

So all week I was looking forward to Brock's big event in Japan. I waited with anticipation to see who his opponent was going to be. I am not sure if it was posted online, I don't read online rumors because they always spoil the show for me, so I had to wait until about ten minutes before the match, literally right before the Divas match, before I knew who Brock was going to face.

Kofi Kingston. I was sure I was reading that wrong. Seriously, did Kofi piss somebody off in upper management? Kofi Kingston? That match isn't worth the flight to Japan! Maybe I am missing something, maybe Kofi is a huge star over there. . . is he?

At least Brock's going to take on New Day, right? No. . . apparently not. So it was just Kofi alone in the ring against the Beast. Brock barely broke a sweat. I can't say it was a let-down of a match, but I was expecting a better booking than that; hell at least throw a Japanese champion at Brock, right? Well, at least we got to see Brock manhandle New Day. I can watch those boys get beat all day long.

I started writing this blog post yesterday and since then I came the conclusion that Brock was never really the beast they were trying to promote in the East; that honor goes to the new NXT champion, Finn Balor. Finn is a major star in Japan and he certainly deserves the title, although I am not sure how well he's going to go over with the WWE crowd.Kevin Owens did a great job in the map and took a lot of kicks to the head before losing his title. If you thought Owen's attitude was bad before, just wait to see how he acts now that he's no longer the champ. I don't want Cena to lose the U.S. title, even though the rumor mongers say he will at Battleground. John Cena worked hard to give that title some prestige and dignity again, although historically it has been more a heel title. In the past, the US title was often given to heels who put over the main champion, or were too old to be main contenders, or for superstars who just weren't right for the World Heavyweight Championship. If Cena loses, it would mean he would have to work himself back into the world title scene, which is already crowded as it is.

Nice to see a Canadian in Japan, a big shout-out goes to Chris Jericho who, despite looking like shit, gave a great performance inside the Sumo Stadium.

Over the last two weeks I've watched almost every match Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have had together, going all the way back to their first matches at what used to be Florida Championship Wrestling. As great as these two guys are, I am bored of it. I can't watch any more Kane and Seth Rollins matches either, these four guys have gone round and round for two months. Much like the Divas division, there needs to be some new angles thrown into the mix. Reigns has been taken aside and forced to deal with Bray Wyatt, which also doesn't thrill me, but at least I am giving it a chance. I can't see Seth Rollins beating Brock Lesnar and I think Ambrose vs Lesnar is a much more interesting match. We'll have to see on that one.

Nikki Bella continues to dominate, unfortunately I've watched the Bellas face Paige sixteen times this year and I am sick of seeing the same four Divas every week. Bring up Charlotte or Becky Lynch, even just for a couple weeks. I can't understand why the WWE has been in a holding pattern recently, afraid to make any big shifts in direction. Fortune favors the bold, Vince McMahon understood this. It's time for the new era to kick it into high gear. I know that Nikki is set to become the longest reigning Divas champion, they don't want that honor to belong to a loser who isn't with the company anymore. AJ Lee was one of the most overrated Divas of all time. I have zero interest in watching her or hearing about her legacy. Nikki will be the longest reigning Divas champion, you wait and see.

BATTLEGROUND is going to be interesting, because no matter what the outcome is of the matches, we're going to see some shake-ups afterwards. If Owens loses, Owens will be facing other WWE superstars on his climb to the top. If Brock loses, we're going to be firmly set into the era of the Authority. The WWE needs more chaos, damn it! And where the hell has Stardust been??

I actually missed Smackdown this week, instead watching NXT, which seemed to be focused on the Divas this week. Can't complain about that!

On Tough Enough last week they eliminated the guy I chose to win it based on submission videos. So much for that prediction! Interesting start to the show, but not sure if any of the personalities on the show have what it takes to make it in NXT. Going to have to get caught up with this weeks episode tonight.

If you ever watch a match in Japan again, try the game my wife and I invented: Spot the blonde. We weren't able to find a blonde in Sumo Stadium, although we did spot a white-skinned, American style redneck! Although he may have been a roadie. . .