Photos: Punk, Cesaro, and Bryan - WWE.com; Generico - Scott Finkelstein Manipulation: Me (can't you tell?)

Here we are, the Final Four. Let's see how we got here:

Berwyn Eagles Club Final - #1 CM Punk d. #3 Alberto del Rio, 75-12
Turners Hall Final #2 Daniel Bryan d. #9 Tim Donst, 75-12
American Legion Final #3 El Generico d. #12 Mark Henry, 56-31
Easton Funplex Final #4 Antonio Cesaro d. #3 Rachel Summerlyn, 64-20

Now that you know the results, here are the matchups.

In the first semifinal, Berwyn Eagles Club #1 CM Punk will take on Easton Funplex #4 Antonio Cesaro. The former WWE Champion went through Chiva Kid, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, and Alberto del Rio to win his region, while the current United States Champion dispatched Silas Young, Amazing Kong, Eddie Kingston, and Rachel Summerlyn. The last time these two faced off in a singles contest was in 2004 in IWA Mid-South. Both were different men back then. Now, they're WWE superstars with a taste for gold. Punk is looking to get to his third straight final. Cesaro just wants to feel the strange sensation of... winning.

In the second semifinal, Turners Hall #2 Daniel Bryan does battle with American Legion #3 El Generico. Bryan took out Darin Corbin, Christopher Daniels, ACH, and Tim Donst, while Generico defeated Kyle Matthews, Wade Barrett, Austin Aries, and Mark Henry. The last time this match happened was in 2009 in Ring of Honor, as Generico pulled out the win in a Proving Ground match. While Generico now goes by a different name in NXT, for all intents and purposes, he's the first indie wrestler to break through into the Final Four. However, he has the defending Champion to go through. Is a rematch in the finals this year too inevitable, or can Generico (or Cesaro, for that matter) break through?

GET YO' VOTE ON

Just when you think they were done giving Fandango enough things to be fascinated about, he went out and started giving out scores to Chris Jericho's moves with placards. I am so ready for him to debut that it's killing me, because I know he'll be goddamn awesome.

Does this title mean nothing? Photo Credit: WWE.com

Wade Barrett is defending the Intercontinental Championship on the WrestleMania pre-show. Antonio Cesaro, currently, doesn't have a dance partner for his United States Championship on the biggest stage of them all. If I had to take a rough temperature of our little corner of meta-fans, this current climate is the second biggest complaint people seem to have about Mania this year, after the preponderance of part-timers who are taking up prime real estate. The reasoning is that if you hold a title, you should automatically have a match on the card at Mania. On the surface, that sounds like a decent argument to me until I realize that title belts aren't the be-all, end-all of wrestling's core. Obviously, there are levels to this. If the WWE Championship wasn't being defended on the card, then there had better be a good, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T-vs.-Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff-WrestleMania I reason for it. But as we get lower and lower on the totem pole, well, it affects me less.

I often wonder whether that makes me a "bad fan," especially since I've now been eroded by the mindset that Vince Russo so outrageously fostered in the late '90s, that title belts don't matter. Well, that's not the case. Title belts do matter, but they don't matter as much as stories do. Obviously, titles and stories go hand in hand, given that the easiest and most recyclable story in all of pro wrestling is the chase for a title. But does that title story deserve to have a spot on the card just because it has that trinket attached to it? That's a murky question to wade into in today's WWE, less so in other companies though.

In WWE, there are no fewer than five singles titles right now that are defended on main shows. One is gender-specific, the Divas Championship. The other four are technically without constraint (remember, Chyna has held the Intercontinental Championship before), but what do they mean? What are their appellations? The fact that basically the World Heavyweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship basically mean the same thing, that you're Champion of all the lands on the Earth (although if you get technical, the WHC also gives you dominion over the seas too, which now makes me astronomically intrigued to have a WWE Nautical Championship) means WWE has too many title belts. That brings into question the idea of unification or streamlining (or at the very least a reclassification), and honestly, that SHOULD be the endgame right now, especially since WWE Creative has no fucking idea how to wield a roster of that size efficiently.

However, it is what it is right now. There are five singles Championships and one for the tag teams right now. If you're going to have them, you might as well use them. Cesaro and Barrett being snubbed, though, is not some new thing. It's part of a disturbing trend where all they do is lose until it comes time to defend the titles. If you couple that with the fact that most of their WHC or WWE Championship matches have more than just the simple idea of chasing the title as part of their stories, it means WWE doesn't know how to harness the low-hanging fruit. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing that there are personal stakes in title matches, by the way. However, if the title matches need to have a different story attached, what makes them different from any other feud on the roster?

It might be a matter of semantics, but I wouldn't be too angry that the eight-person mixed tag is on the show over a United States Championship match. Instead, I'd be angry that they thought enough to make a story for the former situation and gave Antonio Cesaro nothing to chew on going into Mania except "making everyone else look good." Truth be told, I wouldn't mind that at all with all else equal, but with the United States Championship, he's got potential to tell stories being pissed away. Just because wrestling's not a sport doesn't really mean that the sporting tropes need to be thrown in the garbage. WWE has a fundamental flaw in how they treat their titleholders, especially ones below the level of the Big Gold Belt. Complaining about the fact that Barrett's on the pre-show or Cesaro or Kaitlyn aren't on the card at all is only treating the symptom.

After months of making MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS for WWE, the Prime Time Players FINALLY have a t-shirt. I'm gonna level with you guys and say I'm not the biggest fan of the catchphrase on it. It should have said "MILLIONS OF DOLLARS," but the color scheme is rad. You can buy it here. Far be it from me to shill for a company that needs me to advertise for free for them like I need a handout to buy something off the dollar menu at McDonald's, but think of it as supporting cool dudes who should be featured more on WWE TV.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

WWE Tag Team Championship Match:
Kane and Daniel Bryan (Team Hell No) (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston (w/ AJ Lee)

How: Bryan and Kane laid down the challenge after Kane was laid out by Langston on RAW this past Monday.

The Story: The roots to this tale began to grow in the winter of 2011. Daniel Bryan had caught the eye of AJ Lee, who had been a secret admirer of sorts to the Artist Formerly Known As the American Dragon. Their romance grew into a psychologically abusive relationship that fermented with each passing day Bryan held the World Heavyweight Championship. It got so bad that "Rowdy" Roddy Piper had to conduct a special Piper's Pit just so he could talk to Lee in googly voices, because that's the only way women can be talked to AMIRITE GUISE? GUISE?

The flashpoint happened at WrestleMania, when Bryan lost the World Title in 18 seconds. Bryan blamed the loss on Lee, because the good luck kiss they shared before the match took his eye off the ball and allowed Sheamus to hit him with the Brogue Kick. Bryan kicked Lee to the curb, and she went off running into the arms of CM Punk and then Kane. The bizarre love rectangle culminated in all three men clawing at each other for Lee's affections, although her erratic behavior scared off everyone but Bryan, who proposed marriage to the bubbly but eccentric Lee. While this was seemingly a ploy to get her committed to an asylum, Lee was one step ahead of Bryan, ditching him at the altar to take the vacant RAW General Manager position.

In one of her first actions as GM, Lee sent Bryan off for anger management training under the supervision of Dr. Shelby. Little did Bryan know that Kane was also sent to these meetings because c'mon, have you been living under a rock for the last 15 years? Despite being at odds during most of the sessions, Bryan and Kane formed an unlikely yet strong bond that saw them take the WWE Tag Team Championships, fight a war at TLC against The Shield, actually become true allies, bumps in the road notwithstanding.

Meanwhile, Lee got into some trouble as GM due to improprieties accused by former GM Vickie Guerrero. Basically, she was accused of playing "Hide the Sausage" with John Cena, which turned out to be a whole lot of nothing over a bunch of hearsay. But then Cena actually kissed Lee on camera, but made the cardinal sin of not calling or anything afterwards. She then ditched Cena for Dolph Ziggler, and the two adopted NXT Champion Big E. Langston as hired muscle/comic relief.

Lee and Bryan would cross paths once more backstage after Lee was doused by Ricardo Rodriguez's water bucket. The two traded barbs, which included an 18-second related knock against both Bryan's title loss at Mania and Ziggler's prowess in bed. This led to a match between Ziggler and Bryan on RAW where Langston laid out the bearded Best in the World after the match was over. On Smackdown that week, Kane got his chest caved in with a Big Landing, and given that he wasn't in the mood to trifle given his father Paul Bearer passed away a week or so prior, that was enough for the Champs to lay their challenge down.

Analysis: A lot of people see this match as a holding pattern for three of the four competitors involved. I can see that point of view, but I'm not sure I'm totally on board with the spirit of it. For one, I don't wanna see Bryan and Kane break up. I know it's wrestling to have tag teams break up after they've been teaming for awhile, especially when the relationship has been as tumultuous as Team Hell No's has been. Can't they just be friends forever? Even after they exit the tag team division, they can still make saves for each other, send each other Christmas cards, make Taco Bell runs at 3 in the morning (gotta have Fourth Meal!), and all the other stuff that comes along with being best buds.

I also don't really see the need for Ziggler's story for Mania just to be "guy who is expected to cash in on either del Rio or Swagger." It's great that he has Money in the Bank, but the last thing I want to be is a resident in a world where John Cena's narrative is 150% right about him. Having him sit on the sidelines just waiting to cash the briefcase in would be letting it define him. Letting him be a part of stories, especially ones that are as enriched as this one (accidentally or not), is a good thing, and it helps make his inevitable cash-in a bit more shocking despite its crushing inevitability.

Again, the theme of Mania seems to be "let's build everything ham-handedly" outside of maybe the Jericho/Fandango match, so it's not really surprising that the immediately recent build for this match has been a bit lackluster for such a grand stage. But let's put it this way. Daniel Bryan is the best wrestler in the world. Dolph Ziggler isn't too far behind him. Kane is serviceable, and at the very least, Langston has a brutal-looking finisher that he does very well. The principles in place make it disingenuous to say this will steal the show (mainly because everyone thinks it will), but even if the match was thrown onto the card 15 minutes before airtime, it wouldn't matter at all. It would feel like it belonged.

Who Should Win: Bryan and Kane should win, because I'd rather see them drop the belts to a tag team that's going to get mileage out of a new division, not just one that'll dissolve as an actual team once Ziggler cashes in his briefcase.

Who Will Win: It's hard to say, but I think Ziggler and Langston pull it out just so the Bryan/Kane feud that I thought would have culminated at Mania gets started.

...the Heart Throbs. Romeo Roselli and Antonio Thomas have made a few appearances for Chikara before, most recently at The Great Escape in Maine, teaming with the Young Bucks Cibernetico, where they were the guys who gave up the final point to Marty Jannetty and the 1-2-3 Kid. They're a very comedically-tinged team, and they can be an entertaining act. However, given everything I know about them, they smell like a first round exit to me.

No introductions needed...

Soldier Ant twisting up Jigsaw Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

80. Soldier Ant
Points: 642
Ballots: 11
Highest Vote: 16th Place (De O'Brien)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Matthews lifting the boots to Kevin Steen Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

79. Shane Matthews
Points:651
Ballots: 13
Highest Vote: 18th Place (Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: Shane Matthews is like the personification of the beverage he drinks so much, Red Bull. He's got such a manic energy about him in the ring, and it's refreshing. He'd still be good if he didn't have all the trappings of the 3.0 gimmick, but what fun would that be? Not fun at all, I say you. He's the ultimate Chikara wrestler without the mask. He's also one of the best wrestlers in their ever present atomicos and other multi-wrestler matches, which is invaluable.

Philip Rosenbaum: Big Magic, the... less sane member of 3.0, had a fine year, reaching the Promised Land before the team lost the belts in their first defense. Where his partner shined most brightly in a serious match, I cannot help but find Big Magic most memorable for his part in a match that will never fail to make me smile, the comedy atomico from Night 3 of King of Trios. He showed true veteran savvy when he brought Darkness Crabtree back from the dead with Redbull.

Ryan Kilma: By sheer force of will, Big Magic was able to get the Boston Crab and the head scissors over like it was the Tiger Driver ’92. Shane has found his soulmate in Jagged and there should be a constitutional amendment to make sure they never break up.

Ophidian whipping Saturyne back and forth Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

78. Ophidian
Points: 660
Ballots: 11
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Philip Rosenbaum)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Philip Rosenbaum: After "killing" Amasis at the end of 2011, The Venomous and Vile Serpent from the Nile spent 2012 as Delirious' field commander, leading the Batiri into battle. He was also undergoing a transformation of his own, becoming the Serpent Spirit and mastering Snake Style. His successes in the ring came with a noticeable but subtle change in his wrestling style. While he still retained much of his high-flying, speedy repertoire, he began to slow down his style a lot of the time, working a more punishing game and finding a number of wins with his Ophidian Death Grip.

Ryan Kilma: Chikara worked very hard last year to turn Ophidian into a threat, and I think it paid off. He can control pressure points like Ty Lee, and he’s got mist?

John Rosenberger: Ophidian is one of my top 5 wrestlers right now. He’s not higher on this list because a lot of the stuff he did that made me love him either didn’t happen in 2012 or has to do with his hip-hop album or how nice of a guy he to his fans. That being said, the dude does things in the ring that I love. I like the fluidity of his style. I like his steadfast incorporation of his Snake Style in to his matches. I LOVE the multitude of ways he can bust out an Egyptian Destroyer, which is probably my favorite finisher. I now know it was the Canadian Destroyer first (Thanks TH), but it will always be Ophidian’s move to me. Much in the same way that I think of Hurt as a Johnny Cash song that Nine Inch Nails somehow pre-emptively covered.

Torres giving Kaitlyn the business with a grounded leg scissors Photo Credit: WWE.com

77. Eve Torres
Points: 663
Ballots: 11
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Luke Starr)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: Eve Torres got my 100th place vote, which to the unaided eye might seem derogatory. Note that I watch a ton of wrestling every year, and see way more than 100 wrestlers ply their crafts. Torres started the year as the generic WWE Diva who had a booty-pop and nothing else, but when she turned, she started to show that there was a pretty good wrestler underneath the bullshit. She was a great heel who carried a lot of the action in the Divas division on her back, whether against capable performers or ones who needed a little help.

Jesse Powell: What a shame, for us fans, that she left when she did. Eve’s work in the ring was as good as any Diva in a long time this past year, and her conniving, manipulative heel persona was so devilish, you couldn’t help admiring her.

Cewsh: It’s hard for anyone in the WWE Divas division to standout for positive reasons. Even if you do a great job, you’re still working with other people who, more often than not, aren’t equipped to help you out. But Eve Torres managed to not only grow as a performer in 2012, she also managed to lift up the quality of the entire division around her, and deliver the best run of title matches by a WWE woman champion since Beth Phoenix in 2007. If we graded this like the BCS, and factored in strength of schedule, she may well make the top 10 overall.

Ryan Kilma: Compared to the other wrestlers on this list, Eve Torres had, by far, the most dysfunctional opponents across the ring to work with. Other members of TWB 100 had the benefit of each other to create great matches with, but Torres was given the absolute dregs. Creative had her commit character genocide early in the year, she was now a Hoeski. This was the Dark Period, the only highlight her wardrobe. However, TV-PG allowed her to understate her status as “adulteress” and become a bit of a ring general, having cromulent matches with Aksanas and Taminas. I’ll miss you, Eve Torres; I’d never thought I’d say that.

Parker going all Superman on Kobold's rear end Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

76. Scott Parker
Points: 665
Ballots: 13
Highest Vote: 17th Place (Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: Scott Parker is the straight man to Shane Matthews' off-the-wall comedic dynamo. I'm not sure 3.0 would work as well without him, in or out of the ring, but in the ring is the most important for these purposes. On his own merits, he's more likely to take the big bumps and has a slightly better high flying acumen. It should also be noted that both guys in the tag team are really good at doing the double team offense, which to me, is one of the most important things about wrestling in tags.

Philip Rosenbaum: Jagged really stepped it up this year for 3.0. It's no secret that those guys are a solid tag team that just keeps getting better. Another team that can work equally well in serious matches and comedy matches, Jagged's shining moment in 2012 really came in the Torneo Cibernetico, where he displayed how well he can play the babyface in peril.

Kana delivering the pain via triangle choke to Portia Perez Photo Credit: Gregory Davis/DDS

75. Kana
Points: 666
Ballots: 8
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: 67th Place

TH: Her kicks are a thing of savage beauty. I know that's only one ancillary reason why she's on my ballot any time I get to watch a SHIMMER taping with her on it, but my God, no one has a better roundhouse. A more accurate reason why I voted her on my ballot is that she's so natural at melding joshi strong style with traditional American wrestling and had stellar matches, both in tags with LuFisto and in singles, but man, those kicks…

Eamon Paton: There is not a lot to say about Kana that hasn’t already been said, so all I will say is that any fan caught in the mundane, dull and grim vortex of “ladies” wrestling, needs to be shown a Kana match and have that obliterated.

Dunkerton taking it to... Tatanka? Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

74. Sugar Dunkerton
Points: 674
Ballots: 13
Highest Vote: 10th Place (Jennifer Logsdon)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Ryan Kilma: I know we’re only supposed to talk about in-ring excellence and, make no bones about it, Sug gave Tatanka the match of his life. But Sugar Dunkerton has breathed more heart and soul into his character of Globetrotters Castoff than ROH has bothered to give any of its wrestlers. Does Davey Richards have a father? I want to know, ROH, I want to know.

Jennifer Logsdon: The heart of CHIKARA wrestling. The nonsense with Wink spawned a good thing with him and the dynamic between him and F.I.S.T. Plus, him and Aaron Epic are one of the best tag teams today. Wherever Sugar goes, you can always count on getting 100% from him.

Angle applying the Ankle Lock to Christopher Daniels Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

73. Kurt Angle
Points: 689
Ballots: 10
Highest Vote: 10th Place (Brandon Infinger)
Last Year's Placement: 29th Place

Havok tossing around Jaykus Plisken like it ain't no thang Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy

72. Jessicka Havok
Points: 698
Ballots: 9
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Jennifer Logsdon)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: Havok became the hottest rising main event star on the indie circuit in 2012, but no small part of that rise was due to her prowess in the ring. I didn't see as much of her as I would have liked, but her run in the Queen of Queens tournament against Lady Poison and Athena, and her "secret" match against Mark Angel were all outstanding tilts, enough to get her on my radar for this year.

You might not be able to see Reigns' face, but he's merking Kane with a spear here Photo Credit: WWE.com

71. Roman Reigns/Leakee
Points: 701
Ballots: 12
Highest Vote: 10th Place (Robert Dorman)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Ryan Kilma: The Spear is a surprisingly easy move to fuck up; but Roman has one of the best I’ve seen.

King giving Shelton Benjamin a backslide Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

70. Kenny King
Points: 703
Ballots: 10
Highest Vote: 14th Place (David Shoemaker)
Last Year's Placement: 88th Place

Typical ROH Fan: Kenny King spent half of the year being one of the brighter spots in ROH with Rhett Titus as a part of All Night Express then in his controversial defection to TNA, he delivered there in his sporadic matches. (Favorite 2012 match: with Rhett Titus and TJP vs. The Young Bucks and Mondo at ROH Border Wars)

del Sol tripping up El Generico Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

69. Samuray del Sol
Points: 711
Ballots: 11
Highest Vote: 15th Place (Jennifer Logsdon)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Vega shown here with the lateral press on his hero, Jerry Lynn Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy

68. Davey Vega
Points: 741
Ballots: 13
Highest Vote: 5th Place (De O'Brien)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: Vega is one of the most chronically underrated wrestlers on the scene today. His affiliation with the Submission Squad might bely his talents, but man, people who underrate the Squad based on their comedy alone can eat me anyway. Outside of those trappings though, the man has developed into one of the most earnest babyface wrestlers on the indies. He's been able to show that prowess in ACW and St. Louis Anarchy, his home promotions, but he'd also grown a lot in Metro Pro and AIW. He had a great tag run with Mat Fitchett before he got hurt, and afterwards, he got more and more chances to show his worth as a singles guy. He's definitely someone to watch in 2013, but if he improves on his 2012, he'll be a top 10 guy on my ballot at least.

Ryan Kilma: Dear Mike Quackenbush, you don’t have to dress Davey Vega as a buster of ghosts to get him over with the Chikara crowd. Just throw him in there with one of your many luchadores and wrap your money with a strong rubber band.

Eamon Paton: If someone asked me who I thought was going to become the next rising star that every company will want in 2013, my go to answer has to be Davey Vega. One look at a Davey Vega match and you can tell that pro wrestling comes naturally to him. His match with ACH from ACW’s Showtime's Birthday Bash (which sadly isn't on DVD yet), gets slated as the best match I saw live in 2012. That match gave me chest pains I loved it so much. If any promoter has the opportunity to book this man on their wrestling show, do it because he will captivate people in an instance. Yeah, I said it Chikarmy! Stop being ignorant!

Hey Icarus, is that a closed fist you're tossing at Dasher Hatfield? Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

67. Icarus
Points: 766
Ballots: 13
Highest Vote: 10th Place (Frank McCormick)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: People chant "Worst in the World!" at him. Well, I'm one of them. It's a great part of any Chikara show, but the truth is that he's closer to being best than worst. No one is better at selling himself as a bad guy than Icarus. He's on 24/7, and that includes working in several elements into the match that for anyone else might be innocuous. Removing his jacket has become one of the most effective spots in any match, and all he does is take his coat off. It's better than any eye gouge, back rake, low blow, or fishhook, and yeah, he does those pretty well too. It should also be noted that his teamwork in tags and trios is pretty spot-on as well.

Philip Rosenbaum: Nobody has perfected the art of being a heel in the independent circuit like Icarus. Everything the guy does draws the kind of heat many heels could only dream of, though he's secretly a guy that we love due to our hatred of him. Scumbag haircut, scumbag facial hair, the dismay of wrestlers, commentators, and crowd alike that he invokes from such a simple act as taking off his ring jacket, planting an unwanted kiss on Sara del Rey; it's all such a "screw you" to everyone else that you really can't help but love it. Long had the fans chanted "worst in the world" at Icarus, and how does he respond? He wears a pink T-shirt with "Best In The World" emblazoned on it. You hate Icarus, and you love him all the more for it.

Lost in that is the fact that he's such a capable wrestler, pulling off enjoyable and sound matches whether they be singles, tag, trio, atomico, serious or comedy.

Go ahead and decry his horrible back tattoo and hate the guy. Just don't lie to yourself and say you don't love when he's involved in a match.

Frank McCormick: WORST IN THE WORLD! Yet he's actually a good wrestler, and an absolutely top-notch tag team specialist. But nobody works a crowd quite like Icarus. He gets heat just by standing there. People go into convulsions at the sight of his horrible tattoo. He steps in the ring and oozes smarminess. You just have to boo him! And yet I, at least, boo with love.

The younger Briscoe showing why, as Dylan Hales says, he's a danger to society to Gran Akuma Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

66. Mark Briscoe
Points: 777
Ballots: 13
Highest Vote: 16th Place (Jay Sanudo, Erin Pronovost)
Last Year's Placement: 41st Place

Dylan Hales: Honestly Briscoe is low on matches I give a shit in 2012 and I don't have much to say about particular performances. But his goofiness is something ROH needs more of. He's not goofy as in "yuk, yuk wrestling is fake join the joke and laugh with us," he's goofy as in "crazed redneck has watched a ton of Tokyo Shock and is a danger to himself and the rest of society." More to the point he can inject that character into his matches in interesting ways and at least get some entertaining exchanges, in otherwise boring ROH snore fests.

Hardy anticipating a plancha from Austin Aries Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

65. Jeff Hardy
Points: 839
Ballots: 13
Highest Vote: 11th Place (Victor Rodgers)
Last Year's Placement: 78th Place

Ryan Kilma: I’m glad Jeff Hardy isn’t falling any more, both in his personal life and in every single match. I’d hate to have his body. I hope he retires back to Cameron, NC happy and healthy and becomes Amazon.com’s Gestalt.

Kaz goes BOMBS AWAY on Hernandez Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

64. Kazarian
Points: 840
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 18th Place (Drew Smith, Brandon Infinger)
Last Year's Placement: 98th Place

Joe wrangling up Jeff Hardy Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

63. Samoa Joe
Points: 843
Ballots: 13
Highest Vote: 16th Place (Samantha Allen)
Last Year's Placement: 44th Place

Strong putting Adam Cole in a Boston crab Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

62. Roderick Strong
Points: 852
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 14th Place (Jerome Cusson)
Last Year's Placement: 69th Place

TH: As much as I was sick of him in Ring of Honor the two previous years, every PWG show he was on, he was having great matches. Whether it was against Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Masaaki Mochizuki, or TJ Perkins, he brought it. Plus, there was the ROH match in Philly against Adam Cole that ostensibly made Cole in that town. It can be popular to shit on Roderick Strong, but the guy is the kind of guy you'd be lucky to have on your card. He's a strong hand against nearly any opponent.

Slater doing what he does best... bumping and selling, this time for Vader Photo Credit: WWE.com

61. Heath Slater
Points: 859
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Kevin Newburn)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: Slater's entry on my ballot is very much because he does the most important thing in wrestling well. He sells like a goddamn Champ. Nothing he did in '12 came close to the sell job he did for Big Show's KO punch at Mania the year before, but this past year was more of a complete body of work. He was tasked with making the legends look good, whether they were dudes who could probably still go like Vader or DDP or absolute trash like Sid. Hell, after that run was over, he and his two pals in 3MB made it their job to enhance the standing of anyone they were in the ring against. If you can make your opponent look good, you're worth your weight in gold.

Cewsh: Heath Slater has to be the best jobber in the world right now. That’s not some kind of insult to the man, because his job is literally to lose to everyone in the most entertaining ways possible, and nobody does it better than he does. Whether he’s getting squashed by legends, and getting freight trained by Ryback, nobody is funner to watch go splat.

Robot Hammer: With all due respect to the Ziggler scale for bump recognition, Heath Slater's gonna need his own scale soon. Slater lands on his head for clotheslines and sells a beat down as good, or better, than most of WWE's roster. He's the goofy guy in over his head in every match and yet refuses to acknowledge this fact. I think in terms of pure potential, Slater's only just begun.

Frank McCormick: Heath Slater is that rarest thing nowadays – a professional jobber. Neither one-shot "local talent" nor Zack Ryder, who is just being ribbed/tortured at this point, his actual role is to go out there and get his ass kicked as outrageously as possible, especially if his opponent was big in the 80s. He's obnoxious, and he's deluded. He's somehow conned two other wrestlers into following his lead into perpetual losing. His catchphrase screamed from the center of the ring, air guitar-"blasting" is just about the most charmingly stupid thing ever. Best of all is his hair, a bright red waterfall perfectly styled to add that little extra bit of razzle-dazzle when he takes a gold album or a guitar to the head and falls to the mat in glorious Technicolor selling. Sure, he isn't going to be champ any time soon (or ever, really), but, you know what? He's on TV all the time. He gets to work with some of the biggest legends in the business. He seems to really enjoy his work. He's perfectly serviceable in terms of wrestling ability. So all the haters can suck it, babaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Scott Holland: Obviously we'll remember Slater in 2012 as the guy who kept getting fed to legends en route to Raw 1000. That proved more entertaining, especially from an in-ring standpoint, than his later work as the organizer of 3MB. He's a guy who knows his job and does it well. He makes his opponents' offense look impactful, and that was especially helpful in working with Sid, DDP, Animal and so on. I've yet to see him in an actually compelling feature-style match, and if that happens soon I'll be ranking him much higher the next time around.

One more time Photo Credit: WWE.com

We have ourselves a rubber match. Here's how we got here:

Berwyn Eagles Club #1 CM Punk d. Easton Funplex #4 Antonio Cesaro, 30-22
Turners Hall #2 Daniel Bryan d. American Legion #3 El Generico, 33-18

Two years ago, Punk whomped Bryan en route to the first tournament crown. The next year, Bryan got his revenge by a victory of the slimmest of margins. They meet again for a third year to decide who wins Wrestling March Mayhem. Berwyn Eagles Club #1 and #1 overall seed for the second straight year, CM Punk, went through Chiva Kid, Dolph Ziggler, Robert Roode, Alberto del Rio, and Antonio Cesaro. For Turners Hall #2 Daniel Bryan, his foes that fell were Darin Corbin, Christopher Daniels, ACH, Tim Donst, and El Generico.

The two engaged in a feud over the WWE Championship (and AJ Lee) for the better part of the summer, one that Punk got the better of. It wasn't the first time they met in a real squared circle, as their paths crossed several times in Ring of Honor and other independents. How appropriate is it that they meet here for the third straight year?

VOTE

Not a day goes by where I don't miss Eddie Guerrero. Here he is doing two frog splashes to the goddamn Undertaker.

Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy

It's hump day, so here are some links to get you through the rest of the week:

Staff Shots:

- Trey Irby on the podcast to discuss John Cena and other things [Episode 92: Boys and Sendai Girls]

- Revisiting National Pro Wrestling Day: In Anticipation of ACH, by Danielle [The Mandible Claw]

- The Best and Worst of RAW: WrestleMania Is Only Six Days Away... April Fools! Wait, What? by Brandon [With Leather]

- What's in a pro wrestling name? by TH [Camel Clutch Blog]

Wrestling Links:

- The New WrestleMania [Ole! Wrestling]

- The Damnation of Tim Donst, Part 1 [Wrestling Is Teleology]

- Chickbuster Memory [International Object]

Non-Wrestling Links:

- 21 astounding facts about the Game of Thrones cast [Warming Glow]

- 26 Game of Thrones-style sigils for fictional characters [Buzz Feed]

- 20 things more likely to happen than North Korea nuking the USA [The Smoking Section]

- The Family Hour [The Classical]

- What really makes us sick about Kevin Ware's injury [Deadspin]

- Comparing the Heat's streak to the Lakers' is pointless [SB Nation]

- How to make baked ziti: A guide for heroes willing to make ALL THE CHEESE [Foodspin]

- An amazing recipe for a stuffed loaf of bread with bacon and steak [Imgur Gallery]

- 30 ways to hack your booze [Buzz Feed]

- The Phillies as your office coworkers [I Want to Go to the Zoo with Roy Halladay]

- BR's answer to "I don't like how WAR changes constantly." [Baseball-Reference]

- The most exclusive hotel room in the world: Inside Disney's Cinderella suite [Buzz Feed]

- The dumbest Johnny Manziel column this month [SB Nation]

- Quarterly review in 2013 music [Tom Breihan]

- This Week in Fuck You: Tough Mudder Warriors [Kissing Suzy Kolber]

- Six famous people who were secretly perverts [Cracked]

- 35 astonishing and uplifting facts about the Universe [Buzz Feed]

Via WrestleChat via the Associated Press

Martha Hart and WWE have settled their longstanding differences over the use of the image and likeness of Hart's late husband Owen, who died in a tragic fall from the ceiling at Kemper Arena at WWE's Over the Edge pay-per-view event. Hart had originally filed suit in 2010 over royalties that she claimed weren't paid to her.

The most important thing here is that Hart gains closure from her husband's death. Hopefully, she wasn't forced into it in any way. Less importantly, this means that we'll finally get Owen Hart into the Hall of Fame and perhaps a DVD detailing his career. No matter the implications, this is huge news.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

HOSS FIGHT
Mark Henry vs. Ryback

How: After weeks of sexually-charged near misses, a "who can cause Drew McIntyre the most bodily harm" contest, and a post-match beatdown by Henry on Ryback at Smackdown, Vickie Guerrero made this match.

The Story: It started by chance encounters, like two ships passing in the night. Literally, the beginnings of the proceedings were rooted in Henry and Ryback passing each other as they went to or came from the ring, or backstage. The encounters triggered pheromones of some sort that got them all riled up until the point when Ryback had finished mauling 3MB on RAW, Henry came out and tried to up the ante. Poor Drew McIntyre paid the price for it, but that's what happens when you get in the path of oncoming hosses, I suppose.

This led to a match later that week on Smackdown. Before the match was scheduled to take place, Randy Orton and Sheamus announced Ryback as their third partner for their match against The Shield. Ryback had been vexed by the group in the past. They first attacked him at Survivor Series as he as about to win the WWE Championship. Then, in a match at TLC, Seth Rollins gave himself up as bait to allow Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose double up and pin Daniel Bryan. They cost him the WWE Championship again in a TLC match at the first RAW of the year. They defeated a team with him on it at Elimination Chamber. So, of course, he'd sign up to perhaps vanquish them for good at Mania.

Instead, the self-professed hounds of justice decided they'd get the jump on Ryback, waylaying him during the match with Henry. Henry, proving himself to also be the World's Strongest Vulture, scooped up Ryback's remains and gave him a triple-shot of World's Strongest Slams for good measure. This drew out Ryback to open the next episode of RAW to challenge Henry. Before he could come all the way down to the ring, Vickie Guerrero and Teddy Long anticlimactically headed the curator of the Hall of Pain off at the pass to announce that Ryback had been removed from the six-man match into a match with Henry. Additionally, Smackdown General Manager Booker T implemented a no-contact clause to keep them from touching each other.

Of course, both men found ways around it. In a bench press competition on Smackdown last week, Henry prevented Ryback from completing the rep that would have beaten his total by pressing down on the bar, choking him. I'd like to say this was the first instance of attempted murder as an angle building technique, but this is professional wrestling. I will say it was the best use of near-lethal force I've seen though. Ryback answered on the last episode of RAW by using Santino Marella as a projectile weapon, launching him from the ring onto an unsuspecting Henry on the outside.

Analysis: If you guessed which match I was looking most forward to on Mania and said this one, well, you'd be right. On a card where I'm warming up to every match incrementally (except for Triple H/Lesnar, because fuck Triple H), I was always hot on this match. We all know how awesome Henry can be, but I really think Ryback gets clowned on a bit unnecessarily. He's been in more than a few good matches since debuting. On paper, this could be the best HOSS FIGHT since Sheamus and Henry tangled at SummerSlam '11.

However, there are a few things that give me pause. First, how injured is Henry? He apparently tweaked his leg at a house show, and there were murmurs of how ready he'd be for Mania. He looked good against the Usos and squishing Marella since then, but you never know when the stakes get raised. Second, is this going to be a real live hoss fight, or is this just a reboot on Ryback's dominance streak, where he puts away the biggest prize he can for the time being on the biggest stage possible? This is one match where the winner or loser may not matter, but the manner in which the victor prevails does the most.

However, if everything turns out right, this match could be the finest example of clubberin' WWE has given us maybe ever. My nipples are hard just thinking about it. Before you claim that's way too weird for this feud, I would like to remind you how sexual it has been. The way it started was full of thick, sexual tension, and the promo Henry cut Monday? Yeah, as Brandon Stroud noted in Best and Worst, Henry gave off a total DTF-vibe.

Who Should Win: Call me biased, but Mark Henry should win if just to set up a revenge scenario. Ryback isn't your new Goldberg, WWE? Put your money where your mouth is and have the guts to tell a story that no one had the fortitude to do with Goldberg.

Who Will Win: Ryback is going to win, because he's the new hotness, and Mark Henry, to WWE, is yesterday's hoss.

The Animal speaks Photo Credit: WWE.com

Via WrestleChat

Hey, remember that podcast promising George "The Animal" Steele giving an interview? Well, it's been posted by our good friends over at WrestleChat. They talked to him about the current product, his book, wrestlers using social media to get donations, and Bruno Sammartino. The guys also talked to Luke Hawx, Southern independent wrestler and promoter who is big involved with the Extreme Rising promotion. As you may or may not know, ER cancelled its WrestleMania weekend shows and are suing Stevie Richards for putting up his title in a game of Madden football. He speaks on that, as well as his recent WWE tryout.

We plug on, hitting the midpoint.

Hatfield finishing a suplex on Icarus Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

60. Dasher Hatfield
Points: 861
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 13th Place (Frank McCormick)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Ryan Kilma: One of the most sneaky-good wrestlers out there. He has Kunckleball Schwatrz’s gimmick yet has crafted a convincing, fun moveset out of it. I can’t wait for a Hatfield heel turn: Yankees cap, hidden nail files, doctoring his invisible pitches, I want it all.

John Rosenberger: To be honest, there isn’t a ton of stuff he does in the ring that blows me away but there are a few select things, such as the baseball games and the self-fulfilling submission where he uses his opponents tights to keep the hold in place that I totally go gaga for so I’d be remiss if I didn’t add him to the list.

LuFisto stretching out Nicole Matthews Photo Credit: Gregory Davis/DDS

59. LuFisto
Points: 868
Ballots: 11
Highest Vote:1st Place (Jennifer Logsdon)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: When I didn't get a chance to watch more than like two SHIMMER DVDs in a year, I slept on LuFisto a little too much. Granted, in the pre-Kana match era, she was in the low card, doing comedy matches, and getting the crowd warmed up. There's nothing wrong with that at all. She shone there. But I often was unfairly dismissive of her. There was talent that shone through (although one of the matches on a DVD I have was against Rachel Summerlyn, and I feel the need to go back and rewatch it because it's LuFisto vs. Rachel Summerlyn why wouldn't I?). Maybe part of that was out of self-preservation. She spent an eternity working death matches before, to the point where she was sidelined with a stroke. Who has a stroke that young? Apparently, someone who burnt the candle at both ends a bit too hard, that's who.

But what I saw from her this year was impossible to ignore and even more implausible to hold down. She's a manic pinball with one of the best brawl games of any wrestler, male or female, and a willingness to dish out and take brutal offense with higher aptitude than most people not named Masada or Matthew Palmer. However, it was in the "clean" SHIMMER environment where I thought she stood out most. She and Kana vs. Hailey Hatred and Kalamity may have been the third or fourth best tag match of the SHIMMER spring weekend, but on most other cards, it would have blown the other action away. She had a great spat with Leon as well. Her brawl with Mercedes Martinez at WSU Full Steam Ahead was a bit excessive with too disappointing a finish, but up until the end, it was pretty awesome. Anyone who has seen LuFisto wrestle and denied her talent either has wildly divergent tastes than those of us who appreciate her, or they're just lying to themselves.

Jennifer Logsdon: Lufi had one hell of a 2012, considering she started the year unsure if she would continue wrestling or not. In Mexico she won the Lucha POP Women's title in February, and in December won the North Shore Pro-Wrestling title - the first woman to hold a major men's title in Quebec. Her feud with Mercedes Martinez spanned across three promotions and was one of the best wrestling feuds of the year. Lufi always puts her heart and soul into every match - she is incapable of having a bad one, ever. She's one of my heroes and has had an amazing year.

Briscoe unleashing some redneck kung-fu on Adam Cole Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

58. Jay Briscoe
Points: 874
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Jay Sanudo)
Last Year's Placement: 40th Place

Mantis getting ready to give Nick Jackson the business Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

57. UltraMantis Black
Points: 879
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (De O'Brien)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Philip Rosenbaum: It wasn't supposed to be a good year for the great and devious UltraMantis Black. It was supposed to be the first of two years in hell for Chikara's equivalent of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. The man who has always been an important and popular part of the company (rudo or tecnico) had never won the big one, never held any sort of title in Chikara. After Delirious opened the year by promising revenge on him, Mantis went on to have the most successful year of his career, soundly fending off Delirious' army at every turn and winning his first big one by taking home the King of Trios with the Spectral Envoy. He also challenged for the Campeonatos de Parejas at one point, though this was a rare example of the minions of Delirious successfully thwarting the insect overlord. He had the last laugh of the year, however, as at the season finale he picked up the pinfall on Delirious in a ten-man tag match where he teamed with the Envoy and his returning friends Crossbones and Blind Rage to take on Delirious, Ophidian, and The Batiri.

Robot Hammer: UMB's over the top persona and absolute coolest mask ever often overshadow his in ring ability. Don't be fooled, wrestling fans. Beneath that devious exterior lies an extremely talented performer.

Mack launching into Sami Callihan's dome with an enzugiri Photo Credit: Devin Chen

56. Willie Mack
Points: 918
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 9th Place (De O'Brien)
Last Year's Placement: 81st Place

TH: Willie Mack was not a man to be fucked with in 2012. His year in PWG might have fallen under the radar to some because no fewer than four guys broke out in Reseda. That's not even including guys like Roderick Strong, Kevin Steen, and El Generico who continued to have great years. However, he was there, throwing the chocolate thunder down. He may have had the best match with Sami Callihan on the west coast as well. He might be a guy who's hurt by not wrestling too much outside of California, and his dalliance in AIW was solid if a bit underwhelming. However, he ruled his home turf. No question about it.

Shawn Duckett: Willie Mack is the man! He makes me proud to be a fat boy. Willie displays amazing athleticism for a man his size. He is a fan of this crazy business and it shows in the ring. Willie seems to love every second he is in the ring performing for the fans. Willie’s match against Kevin Steen at Threemendous III was one of my favorites in 2012. Willie Mack is one of the guys makes PWG a special place.

Typical ROH Fan: Willie Mack is a homer pick. I love the dude and his unique style. Originally one of the "local" opening match guys on PWG, Willie secured a full spot on the shows and actually was in the main event scene of 2012. (Favorite 2012 match: with El Generico vs. Sami Callihan & Roderick Strong at PWG DDT)

O'Reilly launching into Eddie Edwards with a kick Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

55. Kyle O'Reilly
Points: 919
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 10th Place (Tim Bridges)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Typical ROH Fan: In Adam Cole's 2012 rise, Kyle O'Reilly was sort of forgotten in the post Future Shock ROH world for the two but he still delivered in the ring. His debut in PWG also sparked a lot of awesome matches including one of the best ladder matches I've ever seen. (Favorite 2012 match: with Adam Cole vs. The Young Bucks vs. Super Smash Bros at PWG Threemendous III)

Hallowicked winning King of Trios with the Chikara Special on Mike Bennett Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

54. Hallowicked
Points: 956
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Philip Rosenbaum)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: I'm not usually as high on Hallowicked as other guys are, but there's no denying he had a good 2012. His feud with Tim Donst produced some memorable in-ring action, especially for the blowoff at Chikarasaurus Rex. He was also good in multi-wrestler matches, especially in the King of Trios final.

Philip Rosenbaum: In case you haven't gotten the message from Tim Donst, Hallowicked is a GOD. The Gen 1 original had a banner year in 2012, racking up more acclaim to add to his hefty list. Putting aside the fact that he's always been a solid hand at any number of wrestling styles, he was the workhorse of the Spectral Envoy this year, keeping the team up while Frightmare was out with an injury, vanquishing Tim Donst in a Lucha de Apuesta match, and using the Chikara Special to force the submission to bring the title of King of Trios to the Envoy in 2012.

Storm giving Robert Roode the business with a kendo stick Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

53. James Storm
Points: 1022
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Cewsh)
Last Year's Placement: 15th Place

TH: Storm is the Sheamus of TNA. He's a great wrestler, especially working as a blue-collar good guy. However, his character is balls. However, this isn't a list that judges character. Storm spent a good part of the year chasing the white whale that was Robert Roode, and it resulted in at least one stellar main event match, the cage match at Lockdown. Storm's brawling skills were on display, as were his revenge instincts. Working smart doesn't necessarily mean doing what's "smart" as much as it's about staying in character. Storm is an expert at that.

Cewsh: 2012 was the year that TNA decided to see what they had in James Storm as a singles guy for the first real time, and he knocked it out of the park. The first key was to build up a new finish in the Last Call superkick that gave him a dangerous dynamic he had never had before. The second was to put him in the ring with Kurt Angle for 3 months and see what happened. Those matches rocked some socks off, and after that Storm didn’t stop producing all year long after that. His 2012 won’t be remembered as much as some others, but he finally proved he was more than just a tag team guy.

Kingston drilling The Miz with a dropkick Photo Credit: WWE.com

52. Kofi Kingston
Points: 1054
Ballots: 17
Highest Vote: 15th Place (Josh Ray, Joe Drilling, Chris McDonald)
Last Year's Placement: 20th Place

Cewsh: Nobody has had less upward momentum than Kofi Kingston in the past few years, and until 2012, that sort of stasis seemed to have seeped it’s way into his matches as well. But something about teaming up with Evan Bourne and R-Truth seemed to reinvigorate the man, because Kofi busted his ass all year trying to make something special out of the crumbs that WWE gave him to work with. He’s still stuck in stasis, but damned if he doesn’t make stasis look good sometimes.

Scott Holland: I come not to praise Kofi Kingston so much as confirm he is a wrestler who did things on TV in 2012. He put in nearly 18 minutes in the Rumble, including his now famous "handstand save." He may have had more story success (runs with the tag team and Intercontinental titles) than actual outstanding matches, but he delivered a solid performance in capturing the Intercontinental title from The Miz on Main Event in October. He has plenty of WWE colleagues who were not involved in that good of a televised match in 2012, which warrants at least a bit of respect.

Ricochet with AR Fox in a modified lightning lock Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

51. Ricochet
Points: 1052
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Paolo Chikiamco)
Last Year's Placement: 56th Place

TH: Ricochet opened my eyes in 2012. After starting out with a drab, way too prolonged match with Johnny Gargano at EVOLVE 10 (one that was exacerbated by Gargano's injured state), his year in PWG was solid at the very least. He vs. El Generico at Death to All But Metal was one of the best examples of storytelling in a match all year. I wish I'd seen more of him in DGUSA/EVOLVE, but he still impressed me enough for him to make my top 25.

Edwards locking in a single leg crab on Homicide Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

50. Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards
Points: 1064
Ballots: 16
Highest Vote: 13th Place (Jerome Cusson)
Last Year's Placement: 45th Place

Shawn Duckett: I’m a fan of Eddie Edwards, because he can always put on a good match. He takes the art of chopping an opponent’s chest to another level. His Achilles Lock always looks good and believable. Eddie is a good singles wrestler and a great tag team wrestler. I prefer his work in PWG over his stuff from ROH, but that’s true of about every ROH competitor that makes the trek to So Cal. I hope to see more of the Dojo Bros with Roderick Strong in 2013.

Typical ROH Fan: EEEE was one of the more consistent guys and his matches tend to always deliver. 2012 is probably the first year I've fully appreciated him. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Brian Cage at PWG Threemendous III)

A bloodied Styles stalks an even more bloodied Christopher Daniels Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com

49. AJ Styles
Points: 1091
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 4th Place (Typical ROH Fan)
Last Year's Placement: 17th Place

Typical ROH Fan: When doing year end lists, I always realize how much I undervalue AJ Styles. You remember him being in tag matches on the big shows and the whole Claire Lynch thing and assume it was a bad year then you look at his matches. When thinking over my favorite TNA matches of 2012, AJ appeared in three of the five. He's as great as ever and hopefully 2013 he returns to the title picture. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Christopher Daniels at Destination X)

Lesnar locking John Cena in a kimura Photo Credit: WWE.com

48. Bork Laser Brock Lesnar
Points: 1108
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Josh Ray)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

Ryan Kilma: Two matches after eight years of ring rust. Granted, some of that rust was garnished while inside an octagon against people who work really stiff, but it was still an impressive comeback nonetheless. I recently saw Lesnar at a showing of Taken 2 (we live in the same vicinity of Alexandria, MN); he sat in the back, making slightly rude, Jimmy John’s sponsored comments. The other 65 of us sat in silence, because none of us were John Cena or Triple H. As for his presence in the ring, aside from Alicia Fox, he’s the only wrestler I’m afraid might kill his opponent in every match (I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Wrestlemania).

Dylan Hales: I have Brock awful high on my ballot. In other years I don't know if he would have gotten into my top tier. But there were not a ton of guys who I thought had hot runs in wrestling in 2012. Lots of guys had smatterings of high quality, but I'm not even sure if a full third of my ballot were guys who I really thought were strong for totality of the year. And in that sort of environment, a menacing beast, who put on one of the best heel performances in the history of wrestling vs. John Cena is really going to rise to the top. In 2012 Brock Lesnar got my dad to stand up on his feet and scream at the TV for Cena to "punt him in the balls" because my academic (literally) father thought Lesnar was shooting. He also carried HHH to something watchable. So yeah, in a weak year for depth of quality, that gets you pretty high on my ballot.

Hero before he became Ohno, knocking his elbow into Michael Elgin's face Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

47. Kassius Ohno/Chris Hero
Points: 1119
Ballots: 16
Highest Vote: 9th Place (Jon Parsons)
Last Year's Placement: 23rd Place

Athena with Jojo Bravo in a Koji Clutch Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy

46. Athena
Points: 1154
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Gregory Davis)
Last Year's Placement: 99th Place

TH: Athena broke out huge in 2012, mainly because she got the opportunity be a gangsta in the ring. You can talk an Eskimo into buying ice, but the name on the marquee still reads "wrestling." You have to be able to bring it when the bell rings.

Athena already had a leg up on everyone else. If you have a finisher that you can apply memorably, you've got a leg up on the competition. There are a scant few finishers that compare to the O-Face. Her lack of fear in leaping off things like aprons or chairs or onto things like chairs or the floor is a huge plus. When she hits it, you know the match is over. When someone kicks out of it, you know that the shit just got real.

But if a wrestler could just be made by a finisher, Randy Orton would be the best guy in WWE right now. That's just not the case. Athena engaged in two of the best brawls of the year, one at SHIMMER Vo. 45 against Mercedes Martinez, the other against Jessicka Havok in the Queen of Queens final. She was fierce, intense, and versatile. She was one of the ten best wrestlers in America in 2012. Why? Cuz baby, she's a rockstar.

Cewsh: This was really Athena’s year on the independent scene. After seeing she had a good thing that was catching on, with her “O-Face” finisher, she took her show on the road and started really making a name for herself outside of Texas. Her feud with Mercedes Martinez in Shimmer really made it clear that she had arrived as an in ring talent, and she only reinforced that around the country during the rest of the year. Definitely one to watch for 2013.

Ryback shell-shocking two poor local talents Photo Credit: WWE.com

45. Ryback
Points: 1167
Ballots: 19
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Jesse Powell)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: The narrative surrounding Ryback in 2012 pissed me off. People focused on the wrong things. Oh, he couldn't lift Tensai for the Shell Shocked? The last time I checked, wrestling's not a solo show. Did anyone ever think Tensai didn't do his part, or that he might have sandbagged him? Oh no, he's poor, wronged, Giant Bernard who worked in Japan. Fuck that noise. Ryback's evolution in 2012 was noteworthy enough to get him a spot on my ballot. His squashes were entertaining. They wanted him to be a terminator, and he gave them above-average execution on it. He got the crowd involved. When it came time for him to move up into more established wrestlers, he knew how to incorporate selling into his repertoire without diminishing his character. Yeah, he wasn't Daniel Bryan, but who is? He also wasn't fucking Heidenreich or Matt Morgan either. If you're going to build a monster, Ryback is a positive true outcome.

Jesse Powell: Say what you want, this dude has improved so much, and stormed WWE with his moon-shot push. Whether he was crushing local talent, or fighting for the WWE title, this guy made people go crazy with his power.

Cewsh: When you grade Ryback’s 2012, you have to use a different scale from the rest of the people on this list. For most of the year the man was facing local jobbers and smashing their faces in at an incredible clip. But the thing that makes him a viable candidate for this list is that he made squash matches something to be excited about for the first time in decades. He massacred the guys he got in the ring with, and managed to get fans behind him, despite many thinking it couldn’t be done in that way in this era. And then when he was unleashed on the main event of WWE in October, he made an immediate impact. In 3 short months, he stole the show 3 different times, first with CM Punk, then with Punk and Cena, and then in what may have been the match of the year against The Shield. He came a helluva long way in one year.

Taylor biting Scott Parker's hand Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

44. Chuck Taylor
Points:1206
Ballots: 17
Highest Vote: 9th Place (Jesse Dlugosz)
Last Year's Placement: 53rd Place

Robot Hammer: As a resident of Kentucky, my wish is for one day my Commonwealth will be known more for our Awful Waffling White Trash Luchadors and less for our fast food chicken chains and our staggering high school dropout rate.

John Rosenberger: I’m a sucker for good comedy wrestling and Taylor is one of the best at it in the biz. Look at his heel work making kids cry during matches, look at his invisible hand-grenade, look at him challenging little ones to fights while rolling to the outside. His high-pitched squeals, his visible petulance, I mark out for all of it.

Shawn Duckett: Chuck Taylor is one of the best comedy wrestlers in the business. At first glance he doesn’t really look that impressive, but he is a very good in ring performer. He can tell a story during a match as well as anyone. He also plays the jerk heel very well. A Chuck Taylor match is always fun. So, pour yourself a glass of Kentucky Gentlemen Bourbon and watch a few Chuck Taylor matches and you are guaranteed to have a good time. Plus he is a friend of the Swamp Monster, so that’s enough to make the TWB 100, right?

Green Ant doing battle with assailANT Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

43. Green Ant
Points: 1269
Ballots: 18
Highest Vote: 4th Place (Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: 68th Place

TH: I thought Green Ant took a step back in 2012, but it was probably due to a scaling back of opportunity, or at the very least, a sacrifice of singles pushes for part of a team ethic. That being said, he wasn't bad in tag matches. Just because he's better in singles doesn't necessarily mean he's bad in tags. Plus, he had a sense for the moment; just look at Chikarasaurus Rex when he dove from the Trocadero balcony onto the Gekido below. That being said, he did have two standout singles matches on his watch – one against Mike Quackenbush at the season premiere and a Young Lions Cup shot against Mark Angelosetti at the Alabama show.

Mike Pankowski: Green Ant definitely jumped to the top of the ant hill this year. He has developed his mat wrestling and he will routinely pull out 5-10 different submission attempts in a match. He has also adding some high flying moves into his repertoire, with his impressive balcony dive at Chikarasaurus Rex was standing out the most. He has taken on some skilled singles opponents this past year and has kept up with the tougher opposition. Green Ant has risen from just being part of a team to being a well-rounded singles star.

Orton delivering his signature finisher to Jack Swagger Photo Credit: WWE.com

42. Randy Orton
Points: 1287
Ballots: 17
Highest Vote: 11th Place
Last Year's Placement: Cewsh, Jamie Girouard, Chris McDonald

Barrett pinning Kofi Kingston Photo Credit: WWE.com

41. RED BELLY
Points: 1315
Ballots: 19
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Joey Odorisio)
Last Year's Placement: 13th Place

Episode 93: Reckless Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

Jerome Cusson of PW Ponderings is on the show this evening to talk about WrestleCon. We kick off by talking about ROH, specifically Kevin Steen's involvement in SCUM, the ceremonial Jay Briscoe title shot, and the appearance from Karl Anderson. With Chikara, we delve into the Ophidian/Amasis match as well as who Mike Quackenbush's partner might be against Shard and Jigsaw. Then, it's onto SHIMMER, where the subject of Vol. 53 as a launching point for them to do more outside of Berwyn comes up. We also discuss Madison Eagles and Serena Deeb coming back and Evie debuting. We talk CZW's guest stars, Sami Callihan's potential farewell tour, giving DJ Hyde and his direction a chance, and their progressivism towards women. Moving onto DGUSA and EVOLVE, we talk about the title tournament for EVOLVE and who should win. I also ask Jerry to sell me on Shingo, and we marvel at Uhaa Nation. WE talk a little bit about ACW's competing show, as well as PWS bringing in Jushin Liger. Finally, we close talking a little bit about WrestleMania itself.

Direct link for your downloading pleasure.

For the second year in a row, Daniel Bryan has won TWB's Wrestling March Mayhem. He defeated CM Punk by a score of 21-19 to take home the crown. Congratulations to the WWE Tag Team Co-Champion and Champion of our hearts here at The Wrestling Blog!

The Big Show took batting practice at Yankee Stadium yesterday. Here he is with Yankee manager Joe Girardi, whom I'm sure isn't trying to get his bat into the lineup. I mean, it couldn't be any worse than what they have this year, right? Haha, it's funny because the Yankees look bad this year so far. I gotta wonder though, if Show could get a hold of a ball, he could probably put it into the seats, but I also have to wonder whether he'd be a victim of his own size when it came to his strike zone.

Show did play basketball in college; his alma mater, Wichita State, is in the Final Four. I wonder though if he could end up being a three-sport superstar. You never know.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

The Streak Match
The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

How: CM Punk won a four-way match to earn the right to end Undertaker's streak.

The Story: CM Punk began his life as a bona fide main eventer, even before his epic WWE Championship reign began, as a fan favorite, a folk hero if you will. He set out to be the voice of the voiceless, but one night on RAW, after everyone else walked out due to poor working conditions brought on by The Awesome Truth, he stayed behind, put on Triple H's jacket (this fewer than two months after they battled in the ring in a gory, brutal match over whether it was Trips who set a trap for him to get laid out at SummerSlam), and he became the very thing he hated. He bullied John Laurinaitis, made fun of AJ Lee for being a LOL CRAZY SLUT, and he used his advantage as WWE Champion to cast aspersions at those who didn't have the chance to get into his spot, the same way he felt John Cena did the same to him.

With this newfound position in the company came an illusion of respect, one that week by week, month by month, Punk found less and less like reality to him. He was WWE Champion, but he headlined a grand total of one pay-per-view event. Everything else had John Cena as the last match going on. It wasn't Punk who was considered the face of the company, it was The Rock, a man who showed up a handful of times a year. This warped Punk to the point where once he realized what his standing in the company was, he snapped. Not only did he lash out against Rock and Cena, but he turned against the fans too, the ones who stood passively by as he was the afterthought to Cena.

After a tumultuous five month run between RAW 1000 and the Royal Rumble, Punk scratched and clawed not only to keep his title, but to gain respect. He eventually failed in the former; The Rock defeated him at the Rumble for the belt and retained it at Elimination Chamber. Cena put a final nail in Punk's golden dream by successfully defending his Rumble win-given title shot at Rocky at Mania in a match on RAW.

It was clear he wouldn't get the latter, as no matter how many times he kept his title, he was told he didn't get respect because he didn't make any "moments." Of course, we all knew this was a lie, as pretty much everything that happened between the original pipe bomb and the point in time when Punk walked out of WWE with the title belt in tow at Money in the Bank '11 was not only memorable in wrestling, but a certified pop culture event. It only mollified Punk's original points, that WWE was an aristocracy and that it shut out the fans. Still, the fans ate it up. So Punk decided that if he couldn't have what he wanted, he'd take away from the fans what they wanted.

The Streak.

Punk set out to take the Streak away from both the fans and yet another embodiment of the establishment that he felt held him down, the Undertaker. After Punk won a four-way match to earn the right, Undertaker's former manager, Paul Bearer, died in real life. At the tail end of the memorial service at the start of RAW, Punk interrupted Taker and verbally berated him. This raised the ire of Kane, who defeated him in the show's main event. However, in the hullabaloo, Punk absconded with Bearer's symbolic urn, the one that Taker drew power from early in his career. Punk mocked Bearer, Taker, and the urn over the next few weeks, continually pushing the envelope until he finally dumped the contents of it on Taker on the most previous episode of RAW.

Analysis: This match has felt polarizing. It seems most of the reactions are either gung ho at the total pro wrestling build of the whole story, how "Memphis" it is, or they're aghast at how Bearer's death is being exploited. Personally, I wasn't too broken up over the fact that they used Bearer's death at all. I was actually bored with how each week, it seemed to be more of the same thing. It was predicated on shock moment after shock moment, and even Punk's promos during the feud were just "Ha, Paul Bearer's dead, you're a stupid jerk, you stupid jerk." Where was the depth? It felt like Punk was going through the motions. I'm still up for the match, but man, it could have been so much better.

As for the match itself, I think it'll be good. Punk is a general, and Taker always seems to know what's expected from him at Mania. It depends on how much time it's given, or how banged up Taker really is. But if all else is equal, this match will become a Mania Classic the way it's meant to be.

Who Should Win: Undertaker should win. CM Punk needs to take time off for injury after this match, and there's no reason why he should win if he's going to be gone for a long time. Plus, 'Taker's last match should happen at Mania next year as long as he can go, and at this point, should Punk even be the guy who ends the Streak? I'm not sure. It definitely shouldn't be with this story. It's been set up for Punk to eat a massive pile of shit, to get his comeuppance in a huge way. I see a story where Punk takes EVERYTHING from Taker, including his Streak, only to get demolished next year, but really, does anyone think WWE is going to have the patience for that story, especially if it's so dicey whether Taker can go next year?

Who Will Win: Undertaker. I repeat, this feud has been telegraphed from the moment Paul Bearer died for him to win. To even pretend otherwise is to ignore a century of pro wrestling history and good storytelling methods.

We carry on.

Richards putting the kick pad to Mike Mondo's gut Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

40. Davey Richards
Points: 1326
Ballots: 18
Highest Vote: 11th Place (Jerome Cusson)
Last Year's Placement: 36th Place

Jigsaw throwing a chop from his knees to Tim Donst Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

39. Jigsaw/Rubix
Points: 1356
Ballots: 21
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: 63rd Place

TH: Jigsaw had an interesting year in Chikara, which again was more based in story than in showcase matches. His best performance may have been in the season finale, when he went full rudo. It makes me way more excited for him in 2013 than anything else. However, as far as him in Chikara goes, he had a fairly standard year, which is a good year in my book.

Philip Rosenbaum: There are three superkicks that stand out in my mind in wrestling history, and the first two belong to Shawn Michaels: When The Rockers broke up, and when he retired Ric Flair. The third superkick heard 'round the world came in November 2012, when the friendship and partnership of Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw came to a quick end as "The Wrestling Riddle Wrapped in an Enigma" delivered a shocking superkick to his old friend's throat. He also delivered another notable superkick in the season finale, as assailANT took the bullet and finally proved himself to be the tecnico that he strived to be.

While it wasn't a great year for wins and losses for Jigsaw, it was an extremely developmental year in his career as he got a tryout in TNA and teamed with Hallowicked to unsuccessfully challenge the Briscoe Brothers for the ROH tag titles after defeating them earlier in the year.

Robot Hammer: You don't get to be one of the cornerstones of Chikara by being a slouch. Jigsaw ain't no slouch. His singles matches with Brodie Lee, Icarus, and the Shard were all great performances, and that's not factoring in his tag, trios, or atomico matches. His frustrations with the Gekido, and later his mentor Mike Quackenbush, pushed him in a more aggressive direction. Even when the outside distractions cost Jigsaw the match, his efforts did not go unrecognized.

Typical ROH Fan: Jigsaw had a great 2012. As someone who does not watch a lot of Chikara, seeing him in TNA was a great reminder of what he can do as he stole the show at the Impact Zone. He should have had a spot there and maybe he will in 2013 with the new X Division rules but this reminded me how good he was and in finding some of Chikara matches in 2012 to see he's one of the better dudes out there. PS I love the name Rubix. Sorry. (Favorite 2012 match: with Quackenbush and Toyota vs. Sendai Girls at Chikara KOT)

Cabana getting ready to drop the elbow on Teddy Hart Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

38. Colt Cabana
Points: 1376
Ballots: 20
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Frank McCormick)
Last Year's Placement: 37th Place

John Rosenberger: Full disclosure: I am a comedy wrestling mark. I like comedy, and I like wrestling and yet I know a lot of fellow comedians who are all “BLAH BLAH BLAH I LIKE MY WRESTLING TO SEEM REAL.” Not me. If you can do comedy and wrestling at the same time, you’ve got me. I’ve not seen someone so effective at blending the two worlds in a long time as Colt Cabana. His ability to make me giggle at the dumb stuff he does, while also appearing to be an effective wrestler is a duo that I hadn’t seen and even when he rehashes bits such as the “Look up there” and then slap move, it still feels fresh. Part of this is because he seems to enjoy himself as much as the fans enjoy him and it builds a sense of all being in on the same thing. A sense of community in between the wrestler and the audience during a match, and not just at the merch tables, is something I treasure in any performance.

Kidd catches Damien Sandow with a high cross-body Photo Credit: WWE.com

37. Tyson Kidd
Points: 1379
Ballots: 19
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Paolo Chikiamco)
Last Year's Placement: 55th Place

TH: Guys like CM Punk advocate for Tyson Kidd to get more time, and after seeing some of his performances on lower shows, it's hard to argue against them. His match with Michael McGillicutty on NXT was good enough to headline RAW if it just had the story and support. I had hopes for his tag run with Justin Gabriel, but he went and shredded his knee – obviously not his fault. However, what he showed before he got hurt was evidence he's being wasted. Give this man a bigger stage, dammit.

Mike Germano: If you didn't see any of Tyson Kidd's feud with Michael McGillicutty from NXT in early 2012, I'd advise you to look it up as soon as possible. Thought Kidd never got much time on Smackdown or Raw, his work on NXT and Main event it 2012 is some of the best work in the WWE this year. He can't come back soon enough, and I truly hope he gets a spot matching his in-ring talent.

Dylan Hales: For a fleeting moment Tyson Kidd lived up his hype. Kidd is a guy that has been touted by some people in "smart" circles since he was...well...a kid. He's always looked good, but never looked particularly great. That is until him and Hunico became the WWE C-shows aces for a couple of months in 2012. Did he have a great year? No. But he did make the most out of his opportunities and had some really strong bouts with guys like Hunico and Michael McGullicutty. When he made the main shows he looked good. I was really starting to warm to him and then he got hurt. Which sucks. Hopefully he comes back ready to go on a similar tear.

Fox readies his elbow for impact on Tony Nese's head Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

36. AR Fox
Points: 1393
Ballots: 19
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Jennifer Logsdon)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: Fox started the year as a guy on the cusp, and by the end of the year, he was being positioned in dream match scenarios. This is not an accident. If you watched the Iron Man match against ACH at AIW Straight Outta Compton, you know it wasn't all ACH there. He's one of the best at the flippy shit, but he works surprisingly well as a bigger wrestler, thanks to his taller stature. He also has a great finisher in the Lo Mein Pain. He's only going to get better, even if that means he'll be more and more on WWE's radar.

Dylan Hales: One of the only interesting flippy dudes in wrestling. I am not sold that Fox is anything close to a great wrestler, but he'll work hard, take a nutty bump and can steal the show if matched up with the right opponent. I don't really go out of my way to watch many guys that work the places he works, but I'll usually give a card a chance if he is working someone who I think can make his positives stand out.

Typical ROH Fan: 2012 introduced me to AR Fox and he is crazy. In what I consider my random wrestling watching (outside of my main four - WWE, TNA, ROH, PWG), AR Fox often leaves the most memorable moments in DGUSA, EVOLVE and CZW. The match I'm about to list as my favorite was one of my favorites the entire WrestleMania weekend in 2012. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Rich Swann - Check it out for free LEGALLY. Yes LEGALLY)

Quack wrangling Soldier Ant to the mat Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

35. Mike Quackenbush
Points: 1402
Ballots: 19
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: 32nd Place

TH: Quack teased everyone with a rudo transformation, one that was eerily coincidental with comments made by Chris Hero in a shoot interview exposing some unsavory traits of his backstage. It was his student, Jigsaw, who ended up going bad, but that doesn't mean the bad traits in Quack's in-ring game weren't well-appreciated. They added depth to his already stellar mechanics and technical mastery, especially in the Green Ant match from the season premiere. It's subtle at times, but when you catch it, it's gratifying. Outside of the Green Ant match, Quack worked mostly in tags and multi-person matches, but given that he's the godfather of a promotion where those matches are at the foundation, that's not a complaint at all.

Philip Rosenbaum: Chikara's founding father had yet another stellar year in the ring, with a twist. This year, he got to show off a new mean streak in defending his home. He single-handedly put out a pair of members of the Gekido. It wasn't the best year for Quack in the wins column (much to the chagrin of his now-former partner Jigsaw) as he was disqualified for the rare "excessive violence" after putting 17 out of wrestling with a greatest hits countdown of his 4 different variations of the Quackendriver. 2012 was the year that "Lightning" Mike stopping put up with BS.

Donst leaving Eddie Kingston gasping for air in the Dusk 'Til Donst Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

34. Tim Donst
Points: 1446
Ballots: 20
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Alex Torres)
Last Year's Placement: 74th Place

TH: There were two Tim Donsts in 2012. One was the cocky bad boy-turned-modern day Raven in Chikara, and there was the honorable folk hero Champion in AIW. Both turned in great matches under varying circumstances. Versatility is a great trait to have, and any great wrestler needs to show it in the ring. He excelled as a serial cheater, an abusive tag partner, a sadist who didn't care if he got disqualified, an equal competitor against a fellow babyface challenger, or as a defender of the status quo against rogue invaders. There was a lot to love about Tim Donst last year as a wrestler.

Philip Rosenbaum: There is a fine distinction between wrestling ability and what you do in matches.

It was a rough year for Tim Donst. After having his head shaved due to his loss to Hallowicked, Donst's descent into misery and antipathy truly did manifest itself during matches. Not only his own, which he seemed like he could not care less about unless triggered, but also in the matches of Jakob Hammermeier, who looks up to his BFF Tim. He distracted Jakob to keep him from having a shot at winning the Young Lions Cup because he actually felt like it ruined lives. Then, in the penultimate confrontation of his feud with Eddie Kingston in Chikara, Donst attacked the War King, a member of his own team, during the Torneo Cibernetico and held him down on the outside so that he could only watch until the time was right to throw Kingston in the ring and pick up the win himself.

Tim Donst wasn't the best or most exciting person to DO WRESTLES in 2012, but the path of his persona told through matches he was involved in was so compelling that he was among the best of the year.

Robot Hammer: I'm a big fan of in ring character work. I wonder if I was watching a match with someone who'd never seen either wrestler before what they could tell me beyond 'the guy in red is the good guy, the one in blue is the bad guy.

I can't imagine someone seeing a Tim Donst match and not getting the vibe of his character. Considering the fact that he started the year in Chikara as a brash , arrogant man who claimed he was the greatest Young Lion's Cup champion, then spiraled into a self-destructive pattern that led him to dare someone to kill him in the ring, that's no small feat. He expressed these changes through his bell to bell wrestling just as well as he did through his promos. His body language and mannerisms shifted with his ring work to reflect his shifting mental states.

Oh yeah, and he's a really good wrestler too.

De O'Brien: Over the course of my love affair with CHIKARA, I've watched Tim Donst change from a goofy, smiling star-struck kid with nothing more than a willingness to please everyone, to a scheming, bitter devious madman (sorry, UltraMantis) who wants to change wrestling the only way he knows how: by destroying it and molding it in the correct image. His image. Right now one of the most compelling stories going on in CHIKARA is Donst's Grand Plan, which only a few - if any - seem to be privy to, and if you have any doubt that Donst does indeed have something in mind and up his sleeves, look no further than his match with CHIKARA Grand Champion Eddie Kingston at last year's Under The Hood for proof. You could see the decline of a once-sane, once-pleasant kid into a raving, abusive lunatic who was doing it all for the best reason possible: To save and change the sport he gave up his life, family and love for. I for one have no doubt that if more of us begin to support Donst's Grand Plan and watch him demolish those who interfere, we'll have wrestling the way it should be.

Or at the least, he'll convince us in the end that's what we've wanted all along.

Alex Torres: I wrote about Tim Donst last year, mostly as a person who had only just learned of him. This year, I've seen him become a champion, and I can confidently say he was the most interesting part of a weird year of Chikara. While the rest of Chikara juggled multi man wars which had no real interest for me, Donst stood out with his darker, stronger character, his compelling relationship with Jakob Hammermeier, and his personal feuds with Hallowicked and Eddie Kingston. The hair vs. mask match was the highlight of Chikarasaurus Rex, Donst conveying an array of intense emotions throughout. Without Donst, I doubt my interest in Chikara would have been as strong this year.

Donst was also a power player in AIW, being a part of the biggest storylines, and finally completing his long journey since 2011 for the company's top title. AIW has put Brian Kendrick, BJ Whitmer, Johnny Gargano, Shiima Xion, and ACH in his path, and TIm Donst has more than delivered against each of them.

Tim f'n Donst took over his promotions in 2012, arguably the MVP of both. I'm excited for his 2013.

Evans with the seated waistlock on Bolt Brady Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy

33. Robert/RD Evans/Archibald Peck/Mixed Martial Archie/The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger
Points: 1577
Ballots: 21
Highest Vote:1st Place (Lee Spriggs)
Last Year's Placement: 52nd Place

TH: Across several promotions under several names with different iterations even under similar characters, RD Evans was maybe the most interesting wrestler of 2012. If we had just limited his resume to just the match against Portia Perez at Guilty by Association last year, he'd have been a strong candidate to make my ballot as a single match wrestler, just as strong as, say, Brock Lesnar was for the Cena match. It's hard, especially in wrestling, to play out a lover's quarrel in the wrestling ring without coming off as hateful or misogynistic, but in no small part to Evans assuming the role as creeper and having Perez kick his ass. But Evans had far more notches in his belt than just that one. There were matches in Chikara as Marchie Archie and the Stranger against Sara del Rey and Lancelot Bravado. Hell, he even made a MMA exhibition against Darkness Crabtree highly enjoyable.

Philip Rosenbaum: If you're not having fun when any of the personas of Robert Evans are in the ring, I don't think there is anything I can say to make you understand the brilliance. He had a sad when Veronica left him. He went backstage during a match and got himself sent back in time. He came back as a masked Stranger, who was Mysterious, Handsome, and capable of pulling off a surprising number of wins in the latter half of the year.

Ryan Kilma: Unlike most wrestlers with bells and whistles, when you take away Robert Evans’ whistle, and his bell, (and his drum, baton, giant hat, mask-on-a-mask, finger guns, off-the-wall promos, wooden horse, and his pidgeon sidekick) you still got yourself a pretty fine wrestler. Whenever I hear one of my friends say “Wrestling is stupid” I either show them Generico vs. Ibushi vs. Jackson vs. Jigsaw or I pop in Archibald Peck vs. Colt Cabana from KOT 2011. Are Archibald Peck matches stupid? Yes, insanely stupid. I read a synopsis on his no disqualification match with Mr. Touchdown and it started to sound like a beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy. But there are few people I’d rather see wrestle than the Faces of Peck.

Frank McCormick: It's hard to put into words just how much of a mark I am for Archibald Peck/Mixed Martial Archie/Mysterious and Handsome Stranger. He just appears and I pop. He's a big, gangly, goofy guy playing big, gangly, goofy characters, whose big, gangly, goofy body somehow pulls out moves you wouldn't think a big, gangly, goofy body could, and my heart flutters with joy at the very sight of him. His most recent tag team partner was a pigeon! He is a time-traveler with multiple doppelgangers/quantum doubles! But what makes him so great is his sheer ability to connect with an audience. He makes you care about every match he is in, to feel the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. And, really, isn't that what this crazy thing called "professional wrestling" is all about? Taking the fans along on your rollercoaster ride?

John Rosenberger: Personality is something Robert Evans has in spades. It’s hard enough to throw yourself as completely in to one wrestling persona let alone juggle as many as he does and still invest yourself so completely in each one. The match at Chikarasaurus Rex where he is able to switch between personas mid match is one of my favorite matches of 2012 due in no small part to him. (Also due to the fact that it features 3 other people on this list).

Shawn Duckett: Evans' work in Chikara in 2012 was absolutely awesome. In fact, I think it was the highlight of the 2012 Chikara season. The Mysterious and Handsome Stranger character was brilliant. Wrestling matches should tell a story and be entertaining. Evans delivered every time I watched one of his matches in 2012.

Lee Spriggs: Robert Evans may be the most gifted performer we have as wrestling fans. Whether as Robert Evans, RD Evans, Archibald Peck, Mixed Martial Archie, or the Mysterious and Handsome Stranger, Evans brings a commitment to character that no one can touch.

He's the embodiment of psychopathic hatred: witness his sadistic match against Portia Perez in ACW at Guilty By Association 6. The look on his face when Portia's leg fails her, and the way he takes advantage, is easily the most chilling moment I've seen in a wrestling match (besides another Evans moment from 2011... but that's another story).

He's the best comedic wrestler out there: all you have to watch is his Chikara match against Chuck Taylor in March in Ottawa (at "It's How You Play the Game"), a match that featured pose-offs, attempted drownings via painting, and Peck getting stuck in the ceiling.

He's a source of pathos: the story in the first half of 2012 for Archibald Peck was that his girlfriend had left him, and in an attempt to seem more macho, he adopted an MMA gimmick (which went wrong) and eventually lost his career at Chikarasaurus Rex. After returning, his beloved feral pigeon was brutally killed in the ring by his arch-nemesis Mr. Touchdown. And we were able to see him mourn in the ring and then turn that into an even deeper enmity with Mr. Touchdown, a rivalry that's carrying forward to today.

There are only two wrestlers who I'd be intimidated to meet because I wouldn't know how to really thank them for everything they've made me feel: from fear, to humor, to a surprisingly touching sadness. And Peck is one of them.

P.S. There are few wrestlers who have not only become indelibly linked with certain songs, but have also saved songs I used to have a deep and abiding hatred for. I can't hear "Don't Stop Believing" anymore without Evans coming to mind, so that's something else that he deserves thanks for.

Jackson getting ready to put Meng in a spinning toehold Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

32. Matt Jackson
Points: 1781
Ballots: 24
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Typical ROH Fan)
Last Year's Placement: 51st Place

TH: I can't really separate one Buck from the other, so count this as my entry for Nick Jackson too. The Bucks are one of the most underappreciated tag teams in America today because they work primarily for PWG. I also get the feeling that people see them as Chikara interlopers instead of awesome guest stars/pseudo-roster members like they are. That's a shame, because any time the Bucks are in a match, they are going to be super entertaining to the meta-fan and infuriating in terms of heel heat to the regular fan. They're the best intersection of old school heels and new school indie wrestling move innovation, and I think any card they're on immediately becomes must see. While their most lauded match – vs. Team FIST at Chikarasaurus Rex – was a bit overdone for my tastes, all their PWG work was must-see, especially the three-way ladder match and the bout against Generico and Kenny Omega.

Philip Rosenbaum: The Young Bucks have mastered the art of tag team wrestling to the point that it even works when a third is added in a trio. This year, they got even more crisp. Nick and Matt have such amazing synergy that even as heels, you have to appreciate what they do in the ring. They are always on point with their tandem maneuvers, much to the dismay of all the challengers for the Campeonatos de Parejas in the second half of 2012. They were perfect in their role as the outsiders that just couldn't QUITE be beaten for the titles, and their smugness took them to new heights in 2012.

Ryan Kilma: Matt Hardy should pay Matt Jackson to wrestle as him.

Typical ROH Fan: Considering this is based off the best matches, I have to put the Bucks here. Very few people make me enjoy wrestling as much as they do. Whether it's the PWG DVDs, the odd Dragon Gabe or Chikara show or the local indy show which I was lucky to see, I never not enjoy their matches. Matt gets ranked higher than Nick because he does the Spear. (Favorite 2012 match: with Petey Williams vs. Brian Kendrick, Jay Lethal and Paul London at FWE Back To Brooklyn)

Kane clutches Daniel Bryan by the throat Photo Credit: WWE.com

31. Kane
Points: 1791
Ballots: 27
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Jesse Powell)
Last Year's Placement: 82nd Place

TH: Kane will be most remembered for his in-character antics with Daniel Bryan as positive and his involvement in the John Cena feud as a black mark (and I think that badness was overblown… that feud had some memorable moments even if the big picture missed the mark). However, the dude has had one of the most under-the-radar years in WWE in recent history. The Cena matches were popcorn fun, even if they weren't going to appear on any Match of the Year lists. He dragged no fewer than three awesome matches out of Randy Orton, including the rollicking opener to their best PPV of the year, Extreme Rules. Then, there was the tag team run with Bryan which produced a lot of good, if not great, matches that concluded with maybe the WWE match of the year, the six man against the Shield at TLC, of which the Big Red Monster was a HUGE part.

Jesse Powell: What a year for the Big Red Monster. Sure, the Cena feud at the beginning of the year was kind of “eh”, but his match with Orton at WrestleMania was surprisingly good, and the rest of his year was one hell of a fun ride, from competing for the WWE title to winning the Tag Team gold with Daniel Bryan, Kane continues to build on a career that will likely find him remembered as certainly one of the top five big men in the history of the game.

Ryan Kilma: Whoops, I wrote a paragraph about how awesome Kana is before I realized I was writing about Kane. I will say this: It has been a career year for psychopaths. First Abyss becomes America’s Sweetheart, and then Kane evolves into this generation’s Walter Matthau. Kane also has had a spring in his step that has been almost non-existent in the nearly two decades (!) he has been with the WWE.

Jackson putting the boots to Marty Jannetty Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

30. Nick Jackson
Points: 1801
Ballots: 24
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Lee Spriggs, Typical ROH Fan)
Last Year's Placement: 47th Place

Ryan Kilma: The Nick-Matt Talent Chasm is not nearly as wide as the Jeff-Matt, but the Youngest Buck remains my favorite. I debated for hours whether or not the botched tightrope walk before the ROH/Sendai Girls match was real or not. When I saw him do it again, two months later, at A Piece of the Action, he became one of my new favorite wrestlers.

Typical ROH Fan: See Matt Jackson. But without the spear.

Summerlyn booting Evan Gelistico right in his dome Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy

29. Rachel Summerlyn
Points: 1864
Ballots: 23
Highest Vote:1st Place (De O'Brien)
Last Year's Placement: 61st Place

TH: Intergender wrestling has taken huge strides forward in the last two years in no small part to wrestlers like Sara del Rey, LuFisto, Jessicka Havok, MsChif, Mena Libra, and Candice LaRae, but the OG of all that noise has been Rachel Summerlyn. She was wrestling men before wrestling men was cool in Texas. While other wrestlers were branching out of their regions though, Summerlyn, outside of a couple of dalliances into 2CW, stayed at home. Thankfully, ACW is a fine place to have as a home base.

It was there where she spent the first half of her year rattling off MOTYC after MOTYC, whether against Jessica James, Matthew Palmer, Jazz, or in the Yoga Pants Party match. Her approach in each match was strikingly similar, but tailored to each opponent. Watching a Rachel Summerlyn match was never about defining whether it was "women's wrestling" or "intergender wrestling" insomuch as it was just about being a "wrestling match."

That's why she's the prototype. While other wrestlers seem to be defined by labels, Summerlyn is one of the best in the country, if not the world, because she has done so much to cast these labels off and normalize any promotion she steps into. Even above and beyond that, she's just good. If that sounds simplistic, well, it's as simple as making a declarative sentence about her worth. She's as good at trading wristlocks as she is getting tossed off a balcony, with everything in between being part of her repertoire. If she doesn't have a top 10 resume, no one does.

Jesse Powell: I never even considered that women could fight against men, and it wasn’t because of antiquated ideas about gender, I had just never seen it. Then I came across Rachel this year as I immersed myself more in wrestling. She is just…perfect. Every match looks like it takes 100% out of her, and of her opponent. Every move looks painful, and not in a botchy way.

De O'Brien: My feelings on the treatment and portrayal of women over the last year in wrestling have been pretty obvious; I wrote a piece about how AJ Lee was screwed over completely by WWE for Drop Toehold, I've had several moments about how the Big Two treat their ladies on my Twitter, and I've sort of felt like giving up on American wrestling companies altogether because I didn't feel like they respected women as wrestlers, but expected us - the audience - to see them as pretty eye candy who were there to make the boys look good/give them something to beat up on.

And then my friend Kurtis (Kayfabe, from Drop Toehold/The KGBCast/Twitter) asked me one day, Have you seen Rachel Summerlyn?

Much to my chagrin, I had never heard of her before, and that day my eyes were opened to the fact that here was a woman wrestling in America not named Sara del Rey who was a bruiser, who could keep up with and surpass the boys, and who was very much a woman excelling in a male-dominated field. I didn't think anything could possibly happen to elevate my opinion of Rachel Summerlyn as one of the best wrestlers I've ever seen - until I bought Anarchy Championship Wrestling's Nothing Is As Real As A Dream 2012 on DVD.

If you're not familiar with ACW, you ought to be; they boast a roster of impressive wrestlers (including two of my favorites, JoJo Bravo, the heaviest sumo in the land, and Jack Jameson, bringing MANarchy to this country, one wrestling ring at a time), but on a card that was full of great matches - Davey Vega and Athena vs. Matthew Palmer and Su Yung being one of the better mixed tag matches I've had the privilege to witness - the thing that stands out the most is a gimmick I normally despise: An Evening Gown Match. And not just any Evening Gown Match, but an Evening Gown Dream Partner tag match that pitted Angel Blue and Lady Poison vs. Portia Perez and Rachel Summerlyn. I wasn't expecting to like a match that I was convinced was going to lower these ladies to mere sex objects, and I wasn't prepared for the sheer amount of storytelling that I, a new viewer of ACW up to that point sans a couple YouTube matches, was able to experience in one single match. Portia's untrustworthy (emphasized over and over by a rather bitter Robert Evans on commentary); why would Rachel lower herself to tagging with someone she knows is pretty much pure evil? Lady Poison and Rachel have a rather strange history. Angel's just a jerk. All of the ladies in this match went above and beyond to make it far far more than your standard "Oh my gosh, stripping ladies! TEEHEE!" evening gown match, and for that I am grateful, but what I most remember and will most likely mention from now until the day I die is that in that match, a match full of great spots and great in-ring storytelling that was ACTUAL WRESTLING, Rachel Summerly stood out, regal head and shoulders above it all.

And for that, I very much believe she deserves to be my Number One vote for this ballot, because without Rachel Summerlyn, and ladies like her who are ready and willing to come along and take up the challenge that the misuse of women in the past by wrestling has left them, I think a small part of me would have given up on women in American wrestling altogether. So for that, Ms. Summerlyn, I cannot thank you enough.

Eamon Paton: Rachel Summerlyn opened my eyes to the role of a female in professional wrestling. That’s not to say I was sexist or opposed to equality beforehand, but I didn’t believe that females could ever be looked at as highly as their male counterparts. Then I watched her forearm the hell out of Matthew Palmer and throw him off a balcony, have one of the best wrestling contests I have seen with Jazz, and put on phenomenal, thought provoking matches every time she stepped through the ropes. There is nothing better than that point in a Rachel Summerlyn match where her opponent hits her with everything he or she has, goes for the pin, and Rachel not only kicks out, but bridges upwards, pounds on the ground and starts screaming at the top of her lungs. It can only be compared to that of Bruce Banner’s transformation into the monstrous Hulk. And when that happens, nothing is left in that beast’s path.

John Rosenberger: I’ll be the first to admit being behind on the Summerlyn train. It’s not that I didn’t think she was worthy of all the hype; it’s just that I was utterly uneducated about her. However, having now seen her on video (Unfortunately the one show she did relatively close to me was still 8 hours away and I opted to go watch Stone Cold ET cut a promo and my buddy Sam wrestle) I was blown away by her ferocity in the ring and her willingness to let it all hang out.

Angelosetti posing over Mixed Martial Archie Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

28. Mark Angel/Angelosetti
Points: 1939
Ballots: 26
Highest Vote: 4th Place (De O'Brien)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked

TH: He rocketed out of Beyond Wrestling, where he was already putting together the beginnings of a resume, to take over not only that company but Chikara as well. On the surface, he was two different characters, but Mr. Touchdown was just Mark Angel with the trappings of a football player, which I thought enhanced his in-ring ability with some much-appreciated personality. Either way, he had some phenomenal matches in what amounted to be his rookie year against competition like ACH, Green Ant, and Drew Gulak. I would like to see him have a good-to-great match with someone below his talents to see if he's the complete package, but I can't fault him for being great in the ring with fellow elite-level wrestlers.

Frank McCormick: The word that always comes to my mind when Mr. Touchdown Mark Angelosetti (and I'll confess here that I know him from his Chikara and Wrestling Is... work only) enters a ring is "stud." And, no, no just because he has cobblestone abs and an ass that won't quit, but because despite being a relative newcomer, he so damn GOOD, not just technically, but character-wise. He embodies the "Nerd!" bullying jock asshole to perfection. Even his moveset is entirely in-keeping with his character. The Tebowing? The up-down splashes? The hard tackles? And have you seen him jump? Those sculpted legs aren't just for show. As far as I'm concerned he has "star" written all over him.

Mike Pankowski: It’s incredible that Mr. Touchdown is a rookie. He combines a great in-ring persona with excellent skills and power. He does a good job in making his power moves look clean and look strong. I always like a wrestler that makes it look like he destroys someone when he hits them with a spinebuster, and Mr. Touchdown excels at destroying nerds. Also, his interplay with both his tag team partners and his opponents during the match always give me joy. I look forward to seeing what Mr. Touchdown can do this year with a year’s worth of matches under his belt.

John Rosenberger: The man is a great heel. Being able to translate your character in such a way that you don’t even have to say a word in the ring and people know exactly what your about is a thing that a lot of people underestimate in this world of breath-taking promos and video packages. When Mr. Touchdown steps in the ring, whether you love him or hate him, you know exactly who he is and what he represents.

Henry reacquainting Sheamus with the guard barrier Photo Credit: WWE.com

27. Mark Henry
Points: 2091
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (John Rosenberger)
Last Year's Placement: 6th Place

TH: Damn, Mark Henry was on his way to having another awesome year until he finally went out with his year-ending injury in April. He was rumored to be off the slate even before then, but working hurt, he still wrestled in a perfectly acceptable cage match at the Rumble with Daniel Bryan and Big Show, had a few really good singles matches on TV, and then totally burned down the house twice in three weeks with CM Punk after Mania. It's a shame he couldn't have built off that; even though his injury did give us Punk/Bryan for a couple of months, I perversely wanted to see what Henry could have done in a prolonged WWE Championship feud against a then-babyface Punk in the ring.

Robot Hammer: If you're still not buying what The World's Strongest Man is selling, I just.....Man, I don't even...

Mark Henry is a big, pissed off, engine of destruction. If he had been active the entire year, the landscape of the WWE would've been drastically different. Now that he's back, I want to see him destroy everyone who steps in his way because, as he likes to remind us, THAT'S WHAT HE DOES.

John Rosenberger: I don’t know exactly what it is about his style that draws me so strongly to him. I’m not a particular lover of Hosses. Not that I dislike them, but I just don’t love them more than anyone else. However, whenever the World’s Strongest Man is on my screen I am glued to it. I’m not sure if I just love watching him massacre people or if there is something that aesthetically makes me like him more than somebody like Ryback, but there’s something about him that puts him this high on the list.

Dylan Hales: When I was compiling my ballot I didn't expect for Mark Henry to end up so high. Yes he is my favorite wrestler on the planet and yes he was my number one last year. But he missed 2/3 of the year and I'm generally a guy who puts a fair amount of weight on volume. But the thing is this year was filled with guys who had mini-runs of greatness, followed by long periods where they were injured, vanished, taking time off, relegated to jobber status or otherwise disappeared. In 2012, being arguably the best wrestler in the U.S. for the first four months of the year is enough to get you into the top fifteen, especially when you were in the Raw match of the year and went out with a bang having a dynamite month of April (two awesome matches with Punk, two awesome matches with Orton - one of which was on a house show circulated online, and a very good match with Sheamus) that was among the best months anyone had anywhere on earth last year. When I look at my ballot Henry still seems high, but then when I look below him there is no one I really believe should be ranked above him. So I am fine with him sitting in my top fifteen.

Callihan attempting the Stretch Muffler on Goldust Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

26. Sami Callihan
Points: 2093
Ballots: 24
Highest Vote:1st Place (Devon Hales, Dylan Hales)
Last Year's Placement: 62nd Place

TH: Sami Callihan is a guy that defined the indies last year. He went to all different places against different opponents and had great matches in different styles. He gained the most credibility through DGUSA, because that's where he was positioned as a star. As you may or may not know, I didn't really watch a whole lot of that for whatever reason. However, he did do a lot of really cool stuff in PWG, which is the biggest reason why he was in the top 10 of my ballot.

PWG has been maybe the best fit for him, because the mantra of the promotion is that you go out and have the best match on the card, no matter where it is, no matter who the opponent. Callihan was in the ring with guys like Willie Mack – with whom he could trade bombs – TJ Perkins – with whom he would go to the mat hard, quick, and complex – and Adam Cole – with whom he could do the "heated rival" thing with great results. Every match he had there was must-see, and this was in a promotion where guys like El Generico and Kevin Steen were holding court for years on end.

The stuff outside of Reseda that I caught of his was gravy, but maybe calling it that is a disservice. I mean, the man wrestled two top-level matches the night the Arena closed, one against Rich Swann for CZW and the other with Bobby Fish at EVOLVE 10, and while both had technical edges to them, were totally different. Hell, even though he spent the year as a brash anti-hero/heel, he found time to wrestle as a classic babyface for MCW in a televised three-way against Swann and Alex Colon (one of my many YouTube gems of the year). There's no denying that Callihan is one of the top three or four wrestlers not signed with WWE, but if the rumors are right, I think we might be seeing a lot more of him under a different name. It might sting at first, but if the tradeoff is getting to see Callihan every week doing his thing in the ring? It might be worth it.

Alex Torres: The Callihan Death Machine elevated any place he stepped in to, tearing the house down in Chicago, Reseda, and New Jersey. I predicted he'd rule over 2012, and he didn't let me down.

Dylan Hales: In 2011 Mark Henry was the best wrestler in the United States, but he was not the best wrestler in the world. In 2010 the best wrestler in the United States was Rey Misterio, but he was not the best wrestler in the world. In 2012 the best wrestler in the United States was Sami Callihan and he was also the best wrestler in the world. To be fair this has to be qualified a bit. Negro Casas who I would rank number two in the world, didn't appear on tape nearly as much as Sami and was completely MIA for a couple of months. Finlay was outstanding through July and on pace to at least be Callihan's equal when his indie tour ended (Finlay was eighth on my ballot here, but if international work was counted would have been third - he was outstanding in both Europe and Japan in 2012). But after that there was really no one who had the resume Sami had. While I knew early in the process that Derrick King would be my number 2 (and shame on you people for not having a clue who he is), the gap between him and Callihan was clear and reasonably wide.

As someone who takes these sort of exercises way to seriously, when trying to figure out who was better than who and what constitutes a great year, I look at several things. Here is a rough summary of the sort of things that run through my mind when compiling a ballot for something like the TWB 100.

-Does the wrestler have any serious match of the year contenders or otherwise outstanding "top tier" matches that would finish near the top of cumulative "best of" list for the year?
-Does the wrestler have sound mechanics? Does he have good ring positioning, is his offense good, does he sell well, is he a great bumper, does he have strong timing, et.
-Does the wrestler have a high volume of good matches?
-Does the wrestler have any "stinkers" or disappointing matches?
-Is the wrestler versatile? Was he good in a variety of settings and/or did he have good matches against a variety of opponents?

Now I am not a fan of the modern "super indies" and in a way it feels odd to go to bat for someone who comes out of that culture with my number one vote. But when I look at that checklist, the guy who comes out looking the best is Sami Callihan. Easily.
Did he have a MOTYC? Yes, at least two, though one was in Europe against Finlay. The other was in the States against Finlay and to my mind was one of the two or three best singles matches from anywhere in the world in 2012.

Does he have sound mechanics? Absolutely. Callihan is one of the few super indie guys who can pace a match well and knows how to switch gears depending on opponent. He can take big bumps if needed, is good at working heat segments on top, has strong offense, sells very well, and is usually excellent at working hope/comeback spots with his opponent.

Did he have a high volume of good matches? This is really Callihan's strongest category as he had such a high volume of good matches that I'm still finding and hearing about 2012 Callihan matches I didn't see that others thought were outstanding. The latest I've heard about was a match from December v. Goldust. One day I hope to see that match which has gotten rave reviews, but even absent that Sami had quality matches v. Finlay, Adam Cole, Rhino, Rich Swann, AR Fox, Michael Elgin, Davey Richards, Willie Mack, Johnny Gargano, Drake Younger, DJ Hyde, Alex Colon, John Morrison, Kevin Steen, Danny Damento, and others. This is to say nothing of tag matches and multi-man matches where he put on good performances and doesn't count international matches against guys like Tama Williams, Finlay and Dave Mastiff which ranged from good to excellent.

Did he have any "stinkers" or disappointing matches? Well the Generico match was a bit disappointing, because Generico wanted to work his match and wasn't interested in letting Sami build heat, but Callihan was trying and you can't blame him for the sins of an inferior worker (sidenote - this is not a knock on Generico who I generally think is good. But I cannot believe so many folks were so high on him last year. Where are the great matches and performances? Generico had run out of things to do on the indies and was coasting in a lot of things I saw. I left him off my ballot and I'm glad he's gone to the WWE where at least he'll have new faces to work). The Sabu match wasn't much and I didn't like the BxB Hulk match, but Hulk is one of the worst wrestlers in the world. So while Sami may have had some matches that didn't hit the highs I wanted, I don't think any of his matches suffered for his performance.

Was he versatile? Well I covered this to some degree with the laundry list of guys he had good matches with, but I will go a little further here and point out a few things. Sami can work quality long matches, even against middling competition. He can work excellent short sprints (in my view he's the best in the world at this type of match). He can work matches built around big spots and moments, or matches built around slow build and getting heat. He can brawl, or he can have a straight match. He can work with a vet or a novice and get strong results. He can carry an abysmal wrestler like Davey Richards to a great match, or have possibly the best match of Rhino's career on one of the biggest indies shows of the year. I wouldn't argue that Sami doesn't have stock spots or even that he doesn't have a preferred formula - he does. But I don't consider those bad things and I don't think that makes him any less versatile.

It's possible that other guys had more truly tremendous matches in 2012 than Sami Callihan. It's possible that other guys had good matches against a pool of opponents as diverse. It's possible there were guys as consistent. But there was no one in the U.S. - or the world - who put all these things together in quite the fashion he did. So even if it is a bit of an unconventional pick for me, and even if Southern indies absolutely decimate "super" indies in terms of quality, the best wrestler in the world in 2012 was Sami Callihan.

Having said that, shame on you all for not watching Derrick King.

Gargano whipping Ricochet towards the corner Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

25. Johnny Gargano
Points: 2013
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Alex Torres)
Last Year's Placement: 28th Place

Alex Torres: On this list, there are three people who have held the belt for over a year. Johnny Gargano is the one who has put on the best matches, time and time again. He's the perfect face for DGUSA, someone who connects easy with the crowd. He's the kid we saw grow into a champion, and Gargano has ran with it. After a very scary beginning of the year, Gargano came back and reminded everyone why he deserved his place, being one of the best parts of any company he stepped into.

Mike Pankowski: Between Chikara and Dragon Gate, Johnny has pulled of some great matches. He has the great ability to look dominant and controlling in one match, and then act as if he will have trouble pulling out a victory in the next one. He can give some of the stiffest looking shots in a match. Yet when he gets the same shots in return, Johnny will sell it for all it’s worth and make it look like he got run into by a truck. His ability to give and take makes all wrestlers involved stand out.

John Rosenberger: Brash, confident and the skills to back it up. 2012 was a big year for Gargano and I’d look for 2013 to be bigger. He is one of the better athletes I’ve seen in the ring and his cockiness as a personality is, much like Angelosetti, something that can translate without saying a single word.

Typical ROH Fan: I always joke that every few months I realize I've forgotten that Johnny Gargano is one of my favorite wrestlers. It's a DGUSA/Evolve issue of the shows often not mattering or not having a buzz which is sad because every time I watch a show, Gargano blows me away. I think the guy is one of the best on the planet and probably up there with anyone as the best un-signed talent. A true joy to watch wrestle. Note for my fav match: This wasn't his best pure wrestling match but the aftermath in the ring led to it. This was part of the match story to me and I consider it part of the match. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. AR Fox at Evolve 13)

Ambrose plotting what to do with that ladder Photo Credit: WWE.com

24. Dean Ambrose
Points: 2106
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote: 4th Place (Brandon Infinger)
Last Year's Placement: 39th Place

TH: Ambrose didn't really get to show the world what he was made of in 2012 outside of one match. It was one phenomenal match of which he was a huge part, but he spent most of the year mired in developmental. Luckily for me, entrepreneurial souls ripped torrents from Bright House Networks and posted several of his matches online from FCW, including the rematch with William Regal that ended in a ref's stoppage. He showed he's great as a cerebral loner in FCW, and in WWE, he's now showing how he can work in a group dynamic, especially a group that's as special and in some ways as innovative as The Shield.

Elgin ponders what to do to Mike Bennett Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

23. Michael Elgin
Points: 2107
Ballots: 26
Highest Vote:1st Place (Alex Torres, Pablo Alva, Dave Musgrave)
Last Year's Placement: 75th Place (tied)

Alex Torres: Unbreakable Michael Elgin is perhaps unmatched in match quality in 2012. He gave AIW one of its best matches, taking on Johnny Gargano. He tore down AAW with Silas Young, and Chicago somehow still stands. He was part of ROH's two best matches of the year. And he somehow managed to get to PWG to melt some faces on top of it. After this year, when I think of the best, I think Michael Elgin.

Typical ROH Fan: Elgin probably should be higher. But this is the way I see it. Dude had an incredible year though. Racking up great matches throughout the entire calendar year. Most would have view him as the shining star of indy wrestling in 2012 and I wouldn't argue too much despite my Adam Cole love. (Favorite 2012 match: vs Davey Richards at ROH Showdown in the Sun)

del Rey using Mickie Knuckles' hand to make an obscene gesture to the crowd Photo Credit: Wayne Palmer/DDS

22. Sara del Rey
Points: 2170
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Gregory Davis, Erin Pronovost)
Last Year's Placement: 26th Place

TH: The Queen has left us. Sara del Rey took her considerable talents and went to teach the trainees cycling through NXT. Some may consider that a waste. She's already proven she can do, so why deign herself to teach? Well, I make no judgments of a person's work life. However, for whatever she started doing in the summer of '12 to continue on into indefinite perpetuity, she at least left us with over six months of content to remember her by. Whether it was against Eddie Kingston or El Generico, Leon or Mickie Knuckles, del Rey left a farewell tour greater than most other people's peaks. My personal favorite match was her last one in AIW, against Hailey Hatred (whose omission from this list makes me angry at my fellow voters), which encapsulated everything about the modern independent female that in many ways makes the fairer sex a far more impressive unit within pro wrestling.

Eamon Paton: It says a lot towards why Sara del Rey is one of the best, when the leading pro wrestling company in the world signs her to train all of their upcoming female performers, even though she has never once worked for their company. That’s a testament to Sara del Rey’s skill if I have ever seen one. Here is seriously hoping that anyone who trains with her soaks up as much knowledge as possible, because anyone who knows the reputation Sara has built for herself would be dying to gain that knowledge.

Jennifer Logsdon: The Queen of Wrestling was the first to become a double crown champion in SHIMMER when Courtney Rush won the tag team titles for both her and del Rey in March 2012. Alas, we will never know what may have happened there, as her signing with WWE aborted that angle. Before she left for new shores, however, she gained a shot at the CHIKARA Grand Championship and had a hell of a match against Eddie Kingston. Plus, she was part of the very first SHINE show, and fans were treated to a dream match between her and Jazz. There was much sorrow when it was revealed she was signed to become a trainer in NXT. The Queen, training Divas? Utter rubbish, some said. Yet, if Jesus could turn water into wine, I have no trouble believing del Rey can take models and make them wrestlers. But 2012 was a damn fine year for the Queen, as every year has been.

Kingston wrestling Tadasuke down to the mat Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

21. Eddie Kingston
Points: 2179
Ballots: 27
Highest Vote:1st Place (Robot Hammer, Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: 21st Place

TH: Like his peers Johnny Gargano and CM Punk, The War King spent the entire year as Champion of his promotion. I don't think he performed under the physical duress Gargano did, nor did he have the sheer number of defenses that Punk did, but his high-end matches I thought were comparable to the latter. I haven't seen enough of Gargano's defenses to compare those two. I just fucked my narrative up in the first couple of sentences. Ha. Anyway, Kingston's best matches, against Kevin Steen, Sara del Rey, and Harlem Bravado (of all people), stack up favorably. He had a dominant title reign, but even against Bravado, he played up his vulnerability in a way where it wasn't a foregone conclusion that he was going out on top. That's invaluable for any main event-level wrestler.

Philip Rosenbaum: The temperamental War King successfully defended his Chikara Grand Championship throughout the entirety of 2012, fending off such foes as Vin Gerard, Kevin Steen, Sara del Rey, and Tim Donst in a feud that encompassed the latter part of 2012. His contrasting style with the rest of the roster made almost every match compelling, and the clash with del Rey was particular exciting as the King of Diamonds barely managed to defeat the Queen of Wrestling.

Robot Hammer: I believe in Eddie Kingston.

Or perhaps the better way to say it is, I believe Eddie Kingston. I believe every action and reaction he creates in the ring. When he enters the ring and holds the Chikara Grand Championship over his head, I believe he's proud to be champion. When he throws a punch or kick, I believe he's trying to hurt his opponent. When he steps back to wind up for the Backfist to the Future, I believe he's going for the knock out. When his opponent has him down and he's holding his knee and screaming in pain, I believe he's hurt. When he slapped the taste out of Dasher Hatfield's mouth after Dasher gave him a 'good game' pat on the rear, I believed he wasn't playing around.

I singled out an instance from his match with Dasher because it was a small moment that said a lot, but I could have picked spots from his matches with del Rey, Steen, Donst, or anyone else he stepped in the ring with.

In a time where we as fans probably have too much access to the inner workings of pro wrestling, suspending belief can become a bit of a challenge. It seems being snarky and nit-picking everything to holy hell and back is the norm for wrestling fans. We toss getting into the match and enjoying the ride to the side to play armchair promoter and miss the entire point of entertainment. I want someone to make me believe in the story they're telling in the ring and no one else did that in 2012 like Eddie Kingston. If that doesn't make him The Last Of A Dying Breed, then I don't know what does.

Tonight's Impact had a central theme. AJ Styles was provided the choice between joining the cool group of friends and the group under duress of an old man screaming at him. Granted, the cool guys are a bunch of dicks who emotionally abuse women and take all the shortcuts. They also still scatter even with a numbers advantage (although if you have Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco in your group, do they really count?). But man, why would I want to have Hulk Hogan yelling at me and throwing ultimatums at me? Styles' choice is kind of a hard one, but honestly, in TNA, it's been a historical pattern. Friends are bad, weird loners are good. Jeff Hardy as the good-guy flagbearer and Aces and Eights as the villainous group (with the criminally absent from tonight's show Christopher Daniels and Kazarian as the secondary baddies) hammer that point home.

The ancillary story behind Styles though seems to be this subplot with James Storm. Was I the only one to detect that maybe he's going to end up as a bad guy down the line? He came out almost lording over his pin over Styles, and then went right into his sanctimony again. Styles has turned into so much of a lynchpin lately, and if he's ever going to shed the role of "up-and-coming" guy to become an actual, bankable star, it's going to be now.

Oddly enough, I feel like it's going to be as a weird loner, or at least that's what I think he should do. Friends are bad in TNA, and Styles doesn't seem to me to be a bad guy. But I'm not entirely sure Hogan's going about things the right way either. He's done enough to muck things up. So has Sting, really. The old guys maybe aren't the best directors for the company anymore. Maybe they need to follow suit with their Gut Check match for the evening, trying out guys in their primes.

Because let's face it. AJ Styles isn't a young in the wrestling industry anymore. Neither are Adam Pearce and Magno. Poor Magno, by the way. One match is such a small sample size, and lucha libre is such a hard style to do flawlessly even for guys who are in it going against fellow luchadors. I hope he didn't fuck his face up on that one flop he had going over the ropes.

One other note, I have to comment on Joey Ryan as the Knockouts referee. I thought it was a brilliant idea and use of his character, and most of the match was pretty entertaining in its execution. But it did get a bit hairy at times. I'm not sure I trust TNA going forward not to make this a total misogynist sleaze show, but for now, I dig it.