Let's get weird! Photo Credit: WWE.com

Hello, chums. I haven't abandoned my faithful flock, but these reviews are moving to Mondays for a while, which makes writing about these pre-pay per view/network special shows pretty pointless, but I'm going to do it anyway. Because I can! Because I care! Because the Smackdown lore must be chronicled!

Weirdest Friends – Sami Zayn and Neville AND Kevin Owens and The Miz
I'm about to nitpick the hell out of this segment, but don't get me wrong. It was AWESOME to see Sami Zayn on Smackdown, let alone he and Kevin Owens facing off against each other. Tossing Neville and The Miz into the tag team mix made for a killer opening match that I enjoyed a lot.

That being said, for all of the focus that they're (rightfully) putting on Zayn and Owens' history together, it was weird to me that Zayn's NXT feud with Neville didn't come up at all, and they were tagging together like nothing had ever happened. Poor Neville has pretty much lost any character he ever had at this point and been reduced to “short, English, flippy dude,” so I guess it was only a matter of time before he lost his history as well.

Meanwhile, poor Miz once again found himself as an awkward extra wheel, just like when Chris Jericho and AJ Styles started to face off. He ended up on Owens' team solely by dint of failing to get one over on Zayn. Hilariously, Owens showed no concern at all for Miz being tossed out of the ring, but they ended up tagging together anyway, and Owens bailed on him because of course he did. Miz hanging over the ropes staring helplessly after Owens' retreating figure was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen.

Should Be Friends – Summer Rae and Lana
It's unfortunate that they followed up the fun opening match with a lengthy recap and then a Brie Bella match, but I liked seeing Summer Rae again. She ended up being kind of a non-entity, serving as another reason for Lana to attack her opponent, because that's a thing that's happening for some reason. I'd really like to have some kind of reconciliation between Summer Rae and Lana, though, after the nonsense they both went through with Dolph Ziggler. Summer Rae's reaction faces are too good to go to waste. She and Lana need to get together and judge the hell out of everyone else's choices.

Most Celebratory Friends – The League of Nations
Let it be known throughout the land that King Barrett the Not So Helpless actually got a pin! I mean, it was on Sin Cara, but still. And how did he celebrate? With a victory somersault! And then Sheamus joined him while Rusev looked on approvingly. Simultaneous victory somersaults! What could be finer?

However, this was the match when I finally did it. I muted commentary. New rule, if you want to be a heel commentator you have to think of something more creative to say about Kalisto than, “Man, is he tiny.” Jerry Lawler's incessant, weirdly specific criticism of Kalisto is intolerable. It got downright creepy when he decided to start salivating over how much bigger Sheamus and Barrett are than the Lucha Dragons. “Look how big they are!” Ew, no, dude. Not even Mauro Ranallo could save it, mostly because he doesn't engage in the shouting matches that the RAW commentary table does, and bless him for that. Just saying, Smackdown, I started muting RAW, and then I stopped watching it. Three hours was way too long to listen to three middle-aged assholes shout at each other. Let Ranallo do his thing, maybe let Byron Saxton try his hand at heel commentating, and fucking jettison Lawler already.

And as long as I'm handing out free commenting advice, here are some more words of wisdom from Coach Lacy. Your words matter. “Dean Ambrose gets himself into these sticky situations” is a constructive criticism. “Dean Ambrose is a brainless idiot, why would anyone like this dummy dumb-dumb” is not. Option A is a valid point about Ambrose's tendency to not consider consequences, but it also alludes to the fact that people love him because he won't ever give up and he'll do whatever it takes. Option B just aggressively runs down the guy that could be your break-out hero and offers no reason to keep rooting for him. It's entirely possible to criticize face characters in a way that can illustrate character and story. Guess who doesn't understand that the language you use conveys a myriad of images and ideas? Jerry. Fucking. Lawler.

Reunited Friends – Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, and the Usos
Hey, remember when Dolph Ziggler was best bros with the Usos and Dean Ambrose was, like, part of their extended family because of their mutual Roman Reigns connection? Smackdown didn't, but I did, so I'm taking their team-up against the Wyatts as a nod to continuity anyway. Not even Ziggler could ruin their combined friendship forces, but I have to ask: what the hell was with his extra floppy selling? I swear he's never been that bad before. “Putting on a show” does not mean “looking like a landed tuna.”

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this journey into the pre-Roadblock past. Friday Night Lacy is really hoping that Dean Ambrose will have himself a fun new accessory by the time you read this.

Missy Hyatt is Cabana's guest this week Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: Art Of Wrestling
Episode: 292 (March 10, 2016)
Run Time: 1:06:57
Guest: Missy Hyatt (11:57)

Summary: Colt Cabana gets a chance to chat up Missy Hyatt, who explains how the Fabulous Freebirds made her a wrestling fan at age 17, and also her fascination with history and Civil War re-enactments. They bond over sewing, then the conversation turns into an ambling look through Hyatt's young life, including the influence of Eddie Gilbert and John Tatum, Florida Championship Wrestling and other stops throughout the south, how she ultimately got her first wrestling job and her stunted WWF run centered around “Missy’s Manor.” Cabana then yielded to Hyatt to ask her own questions, which covered topic such as tattoos, hardcore matches and wrestling internationally. Before wrapping up, Hyatt explained plans to leave wrestling behind as a personality.

Quote of the week:“One of the first things I said when Jim Crockett came in to buy UWF, and, you know, buy it from Bill Watts, the first thing I said is ‘I want out of my contract! I’m going to the WWF and I’m gonna get me a doll! I’m gonna be a superstar!’ And he’s like, ‘OK, you can get out of your contract.’ … Three months later I have to come back and go ‘Hi! Hi! I really wanna work for you guys!’ ”

Why you should listen: Cabana in his open stresses, as usual, that he’s not an interviewer. That seems welcome news to Hyatt, who isn’t terribly interested in a point-by-point retelling of her life story, so the result is a friendly conversation that underscores Hyatt’s reputation as a legitimate fan of all sorts of prop wrestling as well as a genuinely interesting person. It’s a light, easy discussion that left me wishing Hyatt would be a guest on other shows, although I fully understand her reticence.

Why you should skip it: It’s not a tawdry, kiss-and-tell glance back at a known sex symbol who had many intimate relationships within the business, so I supposed if you want those kinds of details you’re better off reading Hyatt’s book. Some people might be wishing Cabana or Hyatt provided deeper context for some of the anecdotes and memories, but that’s both a bit of a nitpick and clearly not the stated goal of the exercise.

Final thoughts: Without being able to fully quantify, I really like this one. There was a different vibe than when Cabana has interviewed other 1980s legends like Jim Duggan or Gary Michael Cappetta. This seemed purposefully incomplete, and yet it worked. Hyatt is a terrific personality, and the wrestling world will be worse off when she does doing pubic appearances after April.

It's beginning!

The ballots have been sent in. The votes have been tabulated. The blurbs are being written as I am typing right now. The TWB 100 for 2015 is in the process of coming together, but before the results can trickle out, the time has come to introduce the intrepid panel of voters who have deigned to send in votes this year. The number dropped from last year's total by 11 (79 last year to 68 this year). Additionally, I am disappointed that I only received 68 ballots and not one more before the deadline, as I would have been hooting and hollering if 69 ballots were turned in. Did you know that 69 is a sex number and thus is nice? Well, if you don't know, now you know.

Still, despite the drop, I am pleased with the number and breadth of ballots received. While the total number was lower, this year set the high-water mark for ballots with 100 wrestlers. In fact, while 28 ballots did have 100, that number could have been higher if not for duplicate votes and/or ineligible wrestlers on at least two big ballots. While larger ballots are a bit harder to process, the effort needed to tabulate is far exceeded by the value in data and uniformity that they provide. So pat yourselves on the back, voting public.

Anyway, as is tradition, I shall name everyone who submitted a ballot along with any project with which they are associated as well as fun facts about them. Please give a round of applause to this year's TWB 100 voters:

TH - Caretaker of no fewer than four dependent, carbon-based lifeforms, three-quarters of which are warm-blooded

Rich Thomas - Amateur photographer, third-string goalie for the 1986 Detroit Red Wings

Andrew Smith - TWB fanatic, still nursing hangover from Super Bowl L party

Charles Humphreys - Freelance amateur writer and podcast guest, fetches Triple H's coffee and receives one lash for every degree over 165°F it is

Okori Wadsworth - TWB staff writer, can tell the difference between a llama and an alpaca

Brian Brown - Mysterious Philadelphia man-about-town, will never learn what the elusive and unadvertised 12th secret herb and/or spice is in the Colonel's Original Recipe Fried Chicken no matter how hard he searches

Nick Malone - TWB connoisseur, caught a totally legit Mew in Pokémon Blue by throwing sodium hypochloride at a Zubat and using a net instead of a PokéBall

Rich Fann II - Football writer at Buffalo Wins, is actually a sequel

Bill Bicknell - Twitter bon vivant, teacher, is still really mad Nintendo removed Roy from the Super Smash Bros. series

David Kincannon - Thespian, once overcame crippling agoraphobia by taking bath salts and chasing whom he thought was David Alan Grier through an open meadow (it was really Charles Nelson Reilly)

Antonio Cruz - TWB sommelier, currently working on an Eddie Vedder-singing-voice-to-English translator

Elliot Imes - TWB staff writer, must live with the shame that Chris Christie roots for his favorite football team

Jamie Girouard - First man to pay his way onto The Wrestling Podcast, actually lives in Teddy Roosevelt's nostril on Mount Rushmore

Greg Johnson - Freelance amateur writer, spearheading drive to get the Chargers to move not to Los Angeles but to Pocamoke City, MD for no other reason than it would be a ripping good laugh

Willow Maclay - Cinephile and movie blogger, is for some reason jealous of Spider-man villain Sandman on account of his beach body

Jeff Stormer - Chikarmy foot soldier, once bet a man a beer that Dalton Castle couldn't fit 50 gumballs into each of the earholes of The Boys (he lost)

Alex Torres - Occasional reviewer at Free Wrestling, wasted all three of her genie wishes on new hats for her siblings

Henry Casey - TWB savant, favorite Tame Impala song is "Nangs"

Matthew Hollinger - Professional pro wrestling show attendee, will slice a man's Achilles tendon for blood sausage and a cold beer

Bob RT - Philadelphia Twitter occupant, is currently on his 20th year of being angry at Alanis Morrisette because rain on your wedding day without any further context is NOT ironic

Chris McGibbons - TWB devotee, also has retired from the Detroit Lions this offseason

Nick Ahlhelm - TWB disciple, has producer credits on three of the first five Police Academy movies under the name "Jus le Boeuf"

Chris Harrington - The man behind Wrestlenomics, currently raising awareness that the grass is NOT greener on the other side of the fence if you're colorblind

Rene Sanchez - Former TWB staff writer, played for Chip Kelly at Oregon

Joey O. - Y-Not Radio DJ, is actually the next-to-last Son of Krypton

Sean Orleans - Honest-to-God professional wrestler, is planning on going back in time to change history and be the man to bodyslam Yokozuna because forget Lex Luger, that's why

Ryan Kilma - TWB partisan, now comes in five flavors, including savory pork and cucumber-cilantro-lime

Frank McCormick - Twitter wrestling icon, still cannot decide whether Drew Gulak or Soldier Ant has the finer set of buttocks

Mat Morgan - Chikarmy consigliere, is working on a Twitter bot that corrects people who incorrectly identify a "golazo" from a regular goal

Bill Hanstock - SB Nation, Cageside Seats, and Progressive Boink bigwig, keymaster of Gozer

Butch Rosser - TWB staff writer, is on eternal probation for mocking the East Coast office with his fish tacos and balmy weather in December

Sean Williams - Lawyer and former e-fed standout, has successfully gotten two tens for a five

Francis Adu - Twitter court holder, still trying to talk himself into the Giants paying all that money for Janoris Jenkins a year after Giants fans ruthlessly mocked the Eagles for the Byron Maxwell contract

Kris Zellner - Lucha whisperer and podcaster, is owed 50,000 pesos from Mil Mascaras for bullfighting debts

Brandon House - Chikarmy reconnaissance, once threw a party just so he could have an excuse to fire Skyline Chili at Cleveland from a high-powered cannon

Bob Godfrey - TWB habitue, has never paid market price or above for shock absorbers

Joey on Earth - Proprietor of Wrestling On Earth, is not the Big Dog but has given the Big Dog snacks

Andrew Hewitt - Former e-fed icon, considering dropping his cache of nuclear warheads on Villa Park on grounds no one would blame him outside of struggling BPL teams looking for an easy win to avoid relegation

Joe Ellis - Philly resident, has never been owned despite taking on the appearance of a corncob

Angelo Castillo - TWB's resident reader from the Philippines, still waiting to send me a goddamn good recipe for lumpia, dammmit

Dylan Hales - Freelance amateur writer and podcast host/guest, broke the Fifth Seal of the Apocalypse by not deadlining his ballot this year

Tanner Teat - Freelance amateur writer and podcast host/guest, hides a secret shame of being an Ole Miss fan despite his status of undergrad studies at Alabama

Devon Hales - Twitter wrestling pundit, has ghostwritten every Kanye track since "Gold Digger"

Scott Raychel - Twitter sage, will never, ever Heart Powerviolence again, EVER

Jesse Dlugosz - TWB superfan, the rarely-publicized sixth member of the Teen Titans

Mike Pankowski - Emissary from Strong Island, was once pulled over by Officer Warren Barksdale for doing a piledriver in a lucha match

Sam Clarke - TWB well-wisher, recently re-did 11 of Hercules' 12 Labors on a larf, omitting only the Augean Stables (would you wanna clean up that much shit for kicks?)

Keith Campbell - Twitter cognoscente, cannot tell the difference between eggshell and mother of pearl

Christopher Zinn - Philly Twitter indweller, is heading up Nick Gage's legal defense team

Jesse Powell - TWB appreciator, once caught a swim-training Brock Lesnar while ice fishing

Ryan Foster - Twitter occupier, learned how to waterbend from Avatar Korra, but forgot how when he got hit in the head with a cabbage

Joe Drilling - Co-host of the What A Maneuver podcast, was the touring flautist for The Replacements on their infamous Saturday Night Live performance that got them banned

Brock Lutefisk - Former TWB staff writer, Horb Flerbminber's only friend

Scott Holland - TWB staff writer, sold Triple H his first shovel

Patrick Kay - Twitter cohabitant, is the only person in the state of Arkansas who's licensed to give eye transplants

Andrew Rosin - Writer at Bucky's Fifth Quarter, will only play Monopoly if he's allowed to bring along a dart gun with horse tranquilizers in it

Cam Is Like - Twitter boarder, you know the guy who blocks your path in Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow in Viridian City because he hasn't had his morning coffee yet? Yeah, Cam has nothing to do with that at all

Courtney Rose - Wrestling With Makeup proprietor, currently is co-holder of the WCW World Tag Team Championships

Hayley Erin - Sister of the above voter, is mad at aforementioned sister for picking Scotty Riggs to be her tag team partner instead of her

Brandon Rohwer - Cinephile, has on more than one occasion served hors d'oeuvres on porcupine quills

David Murphy - TWB observer, once flew from Claymont, DE to Provo, UT without his arms ever getting tired

Bill DiFilippo - Staff writer at UPROXX Sports, once saw me belly-laugh while watching a now-deleted Trill Ball Ins video at Pica Pizza (this one's true!)

Matt Conley - Twitter participant, is going on a hunger strike until Big Daddy is put in the Observer Hall of Fame

Joshua Browns - Chikarmy covert ops, does a killer Adele in karaoke

Stacey Costabile-Wenslauskis - Part of the Wrestling Librarian Clan, has won a gold medal in shushing in the Library Olympics for the last three games

Kevin Newburn - Twitter townsperson, Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS. Now you're a toad, just like Kevin likes it

Kenn Haspel - Twitter scion, hasn't met a cut of meat he won't throw in the smoker, and that includes unicorn shoulder

Brandon Kay - Cosplay fanatic, is angry no one likes his Ted Arcidi cosplay, although that may have something to do with subject matter

And before I get to the people whom the above voted for, just a note about the process. This year, each day will have 25 wrestlers listed, not 20, except for the top quartile. Numbers 6-25 will be listed and each of the top five will have their own entry. Also, the tiebreakers are as follows:

• FIRST - Who has the higher high vote?
• SECOND - Who was on more ballots?
• THIRD - Were they blurbed?

Why the third tiebreaker? Because I feel if I have to decide between two wrestlers, I want the one whom someone cared enough to write something about than just a vote repository. If each wrestler received the same high vote, the same number of votes, and were both blurbed (or not blurbed), then the two (or more) wrestlers will be considered tied for their spot. Only one time has that ever happened in the TWB 100, and the two wrestlers who tied were Fire Ant and Michael Elgin. I wonder if they'll show up in this year's countdown. Tomorrow, I will unveil all the wrestlers who have received votes but did not make the final 100.

The Steiners are your number one seeds in the '90s region Photo Credit: WWE.com

Today, the tournament action moves into the 1990s Region, but before I get into the matchups, yesterdays winners are in the blockquote:

Rock 'n Roll Express, Sheepherders/Bushwhackers, Demolition, British Bulldogs, Midnight Express, Hart Foundation, Fabulous Freebirds, Four Horsemen/Brainbusters

Now that those winners have been announced, the time has come to decide which teams from the wild and vulgar '90s will advance.

No. 1 Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott)
Seven-time World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champions, National Wrestling Alliance United States Tag Team Champions, two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, two-time IWGP World Tag Team Champions, Rick can get you a great price on a roomy townhouse in Georgia nowadays

vs. No. 16 Quebecers (Jacques Rougeau and Jean-Pierre Lafitte)
Three-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, were NOT the mounties



No. 8 Eliminators (John Kronus and Perry Saturn)
Three-time Extreme Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champions, United States Wrestling Association Tag Team Champions, cause of most damage to Joey Styles' vocal cords

vs. No. 9 The Gangstaz (Mustafa and New Jack)
Two-time ECW Tag Team Champions, Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Champions, voted least desirable people to want to get into a backstage shoot fight with



No. 4 Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray)
Ten-time WCW Tag Team Champions, came for Hulk Hogan while rightfully calling him the N-word

vs. No. 13 Miracle Violence Connection (Steve Williams and Terry Gordy)
Two-time WCW/NWA World Tag Team Champions, five-time All-Japan Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions, scariest team ever to visit Japan from the US



No. 5 New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn)
Six-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, owners of the most famous pre-match promo routine in history

vs. No. 12 Sting and Lex Luger
WCW Tag Team Champions, 1988 Crockett Cup winners, more makeups and breakups than the unstable couple at your local high school



No. 2 The Road Warriors/Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal)
NWA World Tag Team Champions, American Wrestling Association Tag Team Champions, two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, snacked on danger, dined on death, and nibbled on discomfort

vs. No. 15 Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon
ECW Tag Team Champions, five-time All-Asia Tag Team Champions (AJPW), definition of a "shooting star" in wrestling



No. 7 The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall)
Six-time WCW Tag Team Champions, TNA Tag Team Champions, showed up for work intoxicated countless times

vs. No. 10 Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags)
Three-time WCW Tag Team Champions, WWE World Tag Team Champions, will follow Hulk Hogan anywhere he works, even the Hooters knock-off restaurant he opened



No. 3 Public Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge)
Four-time ECW Tag Team Champions, NWA World Tag Team Champions, WCW Tag Team Champions, both died way way way WAY too young

vs. No. 14 Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon)
WWE World Tag Team Champions, Earthquake once sat on Jake Roberts'garden hose snake



No. 6 Owen Hart and Yokozuna
Two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, another team gone way too young, Jesus

vs. No. 11 Hollywood Blondes (Steve Austin and Brian Pillman)
Two-time NWA/WCW World Tag Team Champions, one once chased the other with a gun on live TV



Alright, get your vote on, everyone!

Austin welcomes NBA standout Roy Hibbert onto his show Photo Credit: USA Today/Sports Illustrated

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show — Unleashed!
Episode: 306 (March 10, 2016)
Run Time: 1:40:32
Guest: Roy Hibbert (14:13)

Summary: Austin welcomes Los Angeles Lakers center Roy Hibbert to 316 Gimmick Street. They talk about Hibbert’s move to LA and getting into the entertainment business, bond over coming into money and housing decision, then explore Hibbert’s childhood wrestling fandom. Hibbert, who is 7 feet, 2 inches tall, discusses his diet and fitness regimen, including mixed-martial arts training, which bleeds into talk about the fighters he follows. Austin asks about the NBA travel schedule and morale on a team that rarely wins, Hibbert explains the value of keeping a tight circle, then answers questions about on-court trash talk, influential players and the advantages of the modern NBA. When Austin’s wife comes home, they recount the story of how they met and their first date before calling it a wrap.

Quote of the week:“I’m not one of those people like Dwight Howard who have like this aura, or like LeBron, people wanna see those guys. I’m more of, like, behind the scenes and I’m realistic about who I am and what I can do. So I would rather — I have a ton of ideas. I write ’em down. And hopefully I can do something with that in the future.”

Why you should listen: Has it been too log since you heard Austin ask a guest what he thought about Brock Lesnar beating the Undertaker at WrestleMania? At least here it’s in the context of Hibbert as a longtime Undertaker fan, and that moment, like the rest of the episode, reveals Hibbert to be an affable, engaging personality who comes across as remarkably grounded for someone who’s earned more than $50 million in an eight-year NBA career.

Why you should skip it: Well, really, it’s Roy Hibbert on the Steve Austin Show. Have you ever heard Austin talk about watching any type of basketball? There’s nothing patently offensive here — it’s really a quite genial chat — but Hibbert isn’t terribly interesting, both in terms of his life story and presentation. Why it went on for nearly 90 minutes kind of boggles the mind.

Final thoughts: If your Austin fandom extends beyond his wrestling career to his larger entertainment interests, this probably holds some appeal — more so if you’re for some reason really into Hibbert, as he doesn’t really have anything to say you haven’t heard on dozens of basketball podcasts. It’s a friendly conversation, but there’s not really anything of substance. That said, I didn’t have particularly high expectations, so it’s worth nothing they were met if not slightly exceeded.

Moose juuuuuuust missed the cut Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

The TWB 100 proper will contain, you guessed it, 100 wrestlers ranked in order. However, far more competitors received votes than will appear on the final list. The following are the wrestlers who received votes, but did not receive enough points to appear on the final, TWB 100 list. The following list contains 347 wrestlers, which added to the 100 is a whopping 447 wrestlers receiving votes. Without looking up, I was able to name 53 more people who worked matches in the US and Canada. With a few more ballots, or with a few more ballots received beefed up a little bit, I'm sure that next year, I can finally unveil my dream, the TWB 500. Alas, this year, the number fell short. Anyway, the wrestlers who received votes, but not enough to make it on the list are below, starting with the highest point-getter, i.e. the guy at the top would have been #101.

• Moose
• Will Ospreay
• Sexy Star
• Titus O'Neil
• Tommy End
• Blaster McMassive
• Wade Barrett
• Max Smashmaster
• Rich Swann
• KUSHIDA
• Naomi
• Trent?
• Jack Evans
• Blake
• Kongo Kong
• Shynron
• Chris Jericho
• Murphy
• Willie Mack/The Mack
• Hiroshi Tanahashi
• Undertaker
• Mark Andrews
• Athena
• Jervis Cottonbelly
• Jack Swagger
• Sin Cara
• Fred Yehi
• Marty Scurll
• Kevin Condron
• Mr. Touchdown
• Andrew Everett
• Heath Slater
• Nick Gage
• Juan Francisco de Coronado
• Ethan Page
• Mia Yim/Jade
• Austin Aries
• Damien Sandow
• Rhyno
• Corey Hollis
• Soldier Ant
• Dana Brooke
• Icarus
• AR Fox
• Dan Barry
• Goldust
• Donovan Dijak
• Oleg the Usurper
• Jimmy Uso
• TJ Perkins/Manik
• Kane
• Jey Uso
• Flex Rumblecrunch
• Erick Rowan
• Carmella
• Ray Rowe
• Tetsuya Naito
• Triple H
• Matt Cage
• Nia Jax
• Bo Dallas
• Tracy Williams
• Missile Assault Ant/Man
• Silas Young
• Joey Ryan
• Big Show
• Rush
• Ophidian
• Manny Andrade
• Leva Bates/Blue Pants
• Chip Day
• Bill Carr
• Kyle Matthews
• Darren Young
• Anthony Henry
• Nicole Matthews
• Alicia Fox
• Chris Dickinson
• Matt Riddle
• Low Ki
• Jaka
• Slim J
• Caprice Coleman
• Curtis Axel
• """Dirty"" Andy Dalton"
• Tye Dillinger
• Davey Vega
• Michael Bennett
• Lio Rush
• Caleb Konley
• Jushin Thunder Liger
• Bobby Roode
• Frightmare
• Eddie Edwards
• Colt Cabana
• Matt Hardy
• Madison Eagles
• Big Ryck
• Lucas Calhoun
• Sting
• Braun Strowman
• Bobby Lashley
• Cheeseburger
• Rey Mysterio
• John Skyler
• Jonathan Gresham
• Tim Donst
• PJ Black/Justin Gabriel
• David Starr
• Orange Cassidy
• Josh Alexander
• Bull Dempsey
• Amasis
• KT Hamill
• Kurt Angle
• Jakob Hammermeier
• Cherry Bomb
• Steve-O Reno
• Sami Callihan/Solomon Crowe
• Davey Richards
• Matt Taven
• Natalya
• Allysin Kay
• Alex Shelley
• Adam Page
• Jake Crist
• Rocky Romero
• Jason Collins
• Chet Sterling
• Jeff Cobb
• Mark Henry
• Veda Scott
• Eric Young
• Rickey Shane Page
• Gunner
• Josh Prohibition
• Christopher Daniels
• Roy Wilkins
• JT Dunn
• Chris Sabin
• Gail Kim
• Hanson
• John Silver
• El Hijo del Ice Cream
• Cheerleader Melissa
• Alex Reynolds
• Frankie Kazarian
• Danny Havoc
• Ethan Case
• Volador Jr
• James Storm
• Nikki Storm
• Portia Perez
• Joey Lynch
• Louis Lyndon
• Matt Tremont
• Texano Jr.
• Argus
• Kay Lee Ray
• Jessicka Havok
• Zack Ryder
• Jesse Adler
• Kellie Skater
• Mario Bokara
• Nick Richards
• Tomoka Nakagawa
• Diego
• CPA
• Sammy Guevara
• Ace Rockwell
• Chase Owens
• Devin Cutter
• Marion Fontaine
• Mason Cutter
• Damien Wayne
• Ricky Starks
• Trent Seven
• Jojo Bravo
• Tyler Bate
• 2 Cold Scorpio
• Amazing Red
• Dick Justice
• Bubba Ray Dudley
• Brie Bella
• Zane Riley
• Gary Jay
• Hirooki Goto
• Ice Cream, Jr.
• R-Truth
• Dan Maff
• Hype Rockwell
• Adam Thornstowe
• Killshot/Shane Strickland
• Mat Fitchett
• Worker Ant
• Beer City Bruiser
• Brian Myers
• Matt MacIntosh
• Tyson Dean
• Trik Davis
• Jerry Lawler
• Pat Buck
• Evie
• Fallah Bah
• Takaaki Watanabe
• AJ Lee
• Devon Moore
• Barbi Hayden
• Cortez Castro/Ricky Reyes
• Karl Anderson
• Jason Kincaid
• Pinkie Sanchez
• Jimmy Jacobs
• Mojo Rawley
• Peter Kaasa
• Chavo Guerrero
• Hiroyo Matsumoto
• Anthony Nese
• Kevin Matthews
• Yumi Ohka
• Bael/B-Boy
• LuFisto
• Matthew Palmer
• Terry Funk
• DJ Zema Ion
• Mr. Cisco/Lil Cholo
• Shaun Tempers
• Kenny King
• Race Jaxon
• Habib from the Car Wash
• Proletariat Boar of Moldova
• Kevin Lee Davidson
• Zakk Sawyers
• Adam Wylde
• Lucky 13
• Paco Gonzalez
• Everett Connors
• Kid Kash
• Steve Corino
• Andrea
• Crazy Mary Dobson
• Jake Dirden
• Mathieu St. Jacques
• Eva Marie
• Jeremy Wyatt
• Nicole Savoy
• Thomas DuBois
• Adam Rose
• Colin Delaney
• Isaias Velasquez
• Evan Gelistico
• Kerry Awful
• Sexxxy Eddy
• Sugar Dunkerton
• Odinson
• Zach Gowen
• Gregory Iron
• Rey Horus
• Chris Richards
• Hania the Howling Huntress
• Izzie Deadyet
• CJ Esparza
• Marshe Rockett
• Vince Brent
• Brett Gayika
• Yuki Ishikawa
• Damian Gibbs
• Dave Crist
• D-Von Dudley
• Estonian Farmer Frog
• Jeff Hardy
• Obariyon
• Summer Rae
• Tyson Dux
• Gunner Miller
• Kodama
• Super Dragon
• Anthony Bowen
• Marti Belle
• Rhett Titus/Romantic Touch
• Stephen Amell
• Cheech
• Tamina
• Taylor Made
• Bobby Wayward
• Tommy Dreamer
• Santana Garrett
• Tracy Smothers
• Arik Cannon
• Billie Kay
• Doc Gallows
• Elias Sampson
• Gran Akuma
• Jigsaw
• Konnor
• KC Cassidy/Peyton Royce
• Tyler Thomas
• Viktor
• Abyss
• Brad Attitude
• Kyle Reynolds
• Tyrus
• UltraMantis Black
• Markus Crane
• Keith Lee
• Su Yung
• Jessica James
• Fernando
• Pepper Parks
• Brent Banks
• Corey Cox
• Sal Rinauro
• BJ Whitmer
• Cameron
• Fry Daddy
• Hernandez
• Tank
• Darius Carter
• Joey Janela
• Ken Anderson
• Bill Dundee
• Road Dogg
• Aja Kong
• Conor Claxton
• Joe Gacy
• Mighty Ursus
• Peter Avalon
• Darin Corbin
• Dynamite Kansai
• CJ Parker
• Flip Kendrick
• Kyoko Kimura
• Billy Gunn
• Eric Ryan
• Lacey
• Marek Brave
• Solo Darling
• Velvet Sky
• Bucky Collins
• Chicky Starr
• Daizee Haze
• George Gatton
• Mr. Azerbaijan
• Mr. Sports Entertainment
• Prakash Sabar
• Swamp Monster
• The Blue Meanie

If you think that the above is just for jabronis and jobbers, think again. Two wrestlers up there (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Nick Gage) received number one votes. Several wrestlers would have made the top 100 had a standardized 25 wrestler ballot been implemented. The balloting system has its flaws, but they're flaws I readily accept in order to make submission more comfortable for the largest possible swath of voters. The point system gives 100 points for a first place vote, 99 for a second place vote, and so on and so forth until 100th place, which is worth one point, just for posterity's sake. Anyway, the countdown for real starts tomorrow. GET HYPE!

This match contained three of the top four seeds in the '00s region Photo Credit: WWE.com

Today's set of first round matches takes the voting public into the 2000s, a decade that marked a weird, wild time for tag team wrestling on the whole. Before I get into today's matches, however, you can see who won yesterday's bouts in the blockquote:

Steiners, Eliminators, Harlem Heat, New Age Outlaws, Road Warriors, Outsiders, Natural Disasters, Hollywood Blondes

With those winners out of the way, the time has arrived to get on the voting for today's top tag teams, which includes probably the top overall seed in the Dudley Boys.

No. 1 The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray and D-Von)
Eight-time Extreme Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champions, nine-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, World Championship Wrestling (post-WWE) Tag Team Champions, two-time IWGP Tag Team Champions, National Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Champions, two-time TNA Tag Team Champions, nearly incited several indie arenas to attempt to kill them

vs. No. 16 MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro)
Three-time WWE Tag Team Champions, most distracting entrance by a valet or manager in wrestling history



No. 8 BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs
Two-time Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions, Absolute Intense Wrestling Tag Team Champions, drove sales for Hot Topic through the middle of the last decade

vs. No. 9 Da Hit Squad (Dan Maff and Monsta Mack)
Six-time Jersey All Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions, 2015 Beyond Wrestling Tournament for Tomorrow Winners, one of the few good things to ever come out of the State of New Jersey



No. 4 Edge and Christian
Seven-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, winners of all three three-way tag team ladder/TLC matches with Dudleys and Hardys, caused Mick Foley to sing "I burned my scrotum"

vs. No. 13 The Brothers of Destruction (Kane and Undertaker)
Two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, WCW (post-WWE) Tag Team Champions, gettin' way too old for this shit



No. 5 Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)
TNA Tag Team Champions, AAW Tag Team Champions, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, 2010 TWB Bloggie Award Winners for Tag Team of the Year, currently the only entity able to resuscitate Detroit

vs. No. 12 LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)
Two-time TNA Tag Team Champions, JAPW Tag Team Champions, world record for most bandanas purchased between two individuals, beating out the Harris Twins



No. 2 Briscoe Bros. (Jay and Mark)
Eight-time ROH Tag Team Champions, two-time Combat Zone Wrestling Tag Team Champions, NWA Wildside Tag Team Champions, Full Impact Pro Tag Team Champions, GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, still need rides to most shows

vs. No. 15 SteenErico (Kevin Steen and El Generico)
Two-time Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Tag Team Champions, ROH Tag Team Champions, destined to do this forever



No. 7 Second City Saints (CM Punk and Colt Cabana)
Two-time ROH Tag Team Champions, Punk once said hi to Cabana on an episode of RAW, you may have watched it

vs. No. 10 Kurt Angle and [REDACTED]
WWE Tag Team Champions, were both once revered universally by wrestling fans and look how that turned out



No. 3 Hardy Boys (Matt and Jeff)
Six-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, TNA Tag Team Champions, WCW (post-WWE) Tag Team Champions, ones responsible for all those BRAND Twitter handles

vs. No. 14 Brian Kendrick and Paul London
WWE World Tag Team Champions, WWE Tag Team Champions, Insane Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champions, not the reason for the WWE Wellness Policy but two guys who'd be fucked by it if they were in WWE today



No. 6 Team Angle/The World's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas)
Two-time WWE Tag Team Champions, two-time ROH Tag Team Champions, about to be lapped so hard by Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, guys

vs. No. 11 Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo)
Two-time WWE Tag Team Champions, most surprising uncle/nephew combo in wrestling history



It's votin' time!

Austin gabs Roadblock with Keller this episode Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: Steve Austin Show
Episode: 307 (March 15, 2016)
Run Time: 1:33:47
Guest: Wade Keller (7:46)

Summary: Before Austin leaves the Broken Skull Ranch at the end of a brief spring cleaning visit, he calls Wade Keller to discuss Roadblock, but first they take a quick look ahead to WrestleMania 32 and the prospects of a sellout. The guys cover each match of Saturday night’s card and explain why they liked the show as a whole, though also giving reasons for the segments that didn’t come off so well.

Quote of the week:“I think it’s bigger than Vince McMahon anticipated. … In a way it’s a testament to an old-school way of promoting wrestling that works, and I don’t know that it hasn’t ruffled some feathers at the corporate headquarters in terms of, you know, egos being bruised about, ‘We know our way is the only way, that we’re standing tall, we’re the only ones here, we’re the only ones left standing and making any kind of money and employing anybody with any kind of good income.’ And then you have NXT come along, this little promotion that’s given some money to develop talent, but a completely separate booking crew and production crew and philosophy, and it’s based on what, Steve, you and I grew up watching. … There’s so many things about NXT that have worked, and just likeable, earnest characters like Bayley and Sami Zayn where you feel good watching wrestling ’cause the babyfaces seem like good people who you’re rooting for and want to see win.”

Why you should listen: A good chunk of wrestling writers and podcasters — those on my radar at least —seem willing to overlook or downplay Roadblock in comparison to the regular monthly supershows. Austin and Keller have none of that, holding the same critical light to Saturday’s show as they did the Royal Rumble and Fast Lane. In something of a role reversal, Austin comes off as the slightly harsher of the two, though both men overall showed great appreciation for the effort and execution of a wrestling-heavy Network special.

Why you should skip it: Roadblock wasn’t for everyone, and if you’re among those who found it superfluous, you’ll probably want to take a pass on this one.

Final thoughts: I strongly recommend anyone paying attention to the current WWE stories give this episode a listen. I think the guys did a great job explaining why Roadblock worked as a show conceptually, even though it had its low moments and also nothing technically happened. They’re incredibly high on the Dean Ambrose/Triple H match, and illustrate well what it means for Ambrose and what it portends for Roman Reigns. Austin’s lack of exposure to The Revival is endearing because it’s contextualized with deep respect. It’s possible some would call him out as being a company cheerleader at a crucial time, but more likely he’s just a longtime wrestling fan who’s getting sucked into the excitement of the build to a WrestleMania in his back yard.

Chikara's Hot Property kicks off the countdown Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

Now that all the preamble stuff is out of the way, the time has come to get into the actual TWB 100. Enough fluff, I'm going to dive right in with number 100...

100. Fire Ant
Points: 784
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 21st Place (Bob Godfrey)
Last Year's Placement: 76th Place

David Kincannon: Fire Ant continues to be one of the best high flyers in wrestling. His work in Chikara’s Challenge of the Immortals tournament as part of the Battle Hive was top notch, especially their first round King of Trios match against the Bullet Club.

Jeff Stormer: You can't have a bad match with Fire Ant. Maybe you can, but I've never seen it.

Screen Grab via Inside Pulse

99. Rockstar Spud
Points: 787
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 11th Place (Nick Malone)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Jamie Girouard: Spud makes my top-50 on the basis of his program with Ethan Carter III, which was by far the best feud in TNA this past year. His underdog babyface work in that feud alone is the reason he makes my list.

Francis Adu: The performance that will define Rockstar Spud's 2015 is his against Ethan Carter III in the Hair vs Hair match in TNA. Spud gave one of the better babyface performances in recent memory playing the quintessential overmatched yet courageous and plucky underdog. Spud would go on to win the X Division title and receive shots at the TNA World Title but, despite those "opportunities", it never felt like TNA took Spud as seriously as they should. The man does comedy decently at least.

Photo Credit: Jason Wilt/Ivelisse-Velez.com

98. Ivelisse
Points: 797
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 22nd Place (Joey on Earth)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Bill Bicknell: Once Lucha Underground figured out exactly what they were doing with Ivelisse (i.e., NO MORE GARBAGE EAST COAST INDIE SEXIST INTERGENDER TROPES), she became one of the best characters on the show. Before THAT, she was great at what she was given. Don't let Matt Striker talk about her anymore, though.

Elliot Imes: She did more on one leg than many wrestlers can hope to do on two. How does WWE let someone like this leave?

Jeff Stormer: The centerpiece of Lucha Underground's greatest storyline triumph--the Unlikely Trio storyline--Ivelisse gave her team credibility and forward momentum. Also, she wrestled a ladder match with a broken foot. Respect.

Ryan Foster: Ivelisse had a compelling role in two matches on one of the best episodes of a pro wrestling show of all time with a broken damn ankle. That’s pretty good, I say.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

97. Cedric Alexander
Points: 832
Ballots: 16th Place
Highest Vote: 10th Place (Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: 66th Place

David Kincannon: Alexander had a great 2015 in ROH, which included great matches with the likes of Dalton Castle and Jay Lethal. He also had two strong matches during AIW’s JT Lightning Invitational Tournament against Zema Ion and Colin Delaney

Bob RT: Forever the man of mystery. Talented enough to be a World Champion, and even pegged by Kevin Steen as the future on the way out. Needs to find a groove, I just don't think it's in ROH.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

96. The Miz
Points: 848
Ballots: 17
Highest Vote: 14th Place (Joe Ellis)
Last Year's Placement: 42nd Place

Jeff Stormer: The Miz is the best there is at what he does, and what he does is piss off crowds and getting punched in the face.

Bob RT: Great at what he does. Do you hate him? Good. That's his job.

Butch Rosser: WHY WAS THIS MAN EVER A BABYFACE?! Seriously.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

95. Dasher Hatfield
Points: 852
Ballots: 16
Highest Vote: 15th Place (Brandon House)
Last Year's Placement: 57th Place

David Kincannon: Dasher Hatfield has been very good for a number of years now. In 2015, with his focus being on the Challenge of the Immortals tournament, he didn’t shine in the ring as much as he did in years past, but he was still very good, and worth inclusion on this list.

Jeff Stormer: One of Chikara's not-so-secret aces, Dasher had a hell of a 2015. A master of getting a crowd on his side.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

94. Ryback
Points: 894
Ballots: 20
Highest Vote: 14th Place (Chris Harrington)
Last Year's Placement: 79th Place

Francis Adu: Ryback might still be a bit too sloppy and reckless with his opponents, but The Big Guy in 2015 was a very entertaining hoss moonlighting as a lovable lug. He even flashed instances of solid body selling. Feed Ryback a Rusev, Luke Harper, Sheamus, and the like and there was a good chance you'll have more fun in those 8 minutes than you'd dream of.

Photo Credit: Mikey Nolan

93. Kenny Omega
Points: 910
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Bill Hanstock)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Elliot Imes: I first saw him this year and instantly knew he was one of my favorites. He will make amazing strides in 2016. SORRY WWE, YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM.

Jeff Stormer: If I were factoring in his New Japan work, Omega'd be way higher. But that's not to say his American work isn't great as well.

Bob RT: Another one I ranked higher than most. Hopefully we see him more in the states in 2016, as I believe he's just scratching the surface of his potential.

Photo Credit: Corey Tatum

92. Jimmy Rave
Points: 942
Ballots: 11
Highest Vote:1st Place (Dylan Hales)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: Rave is such a cerebral wrestler. He sees what his opponent can do and tailors his strategy to it, which is huge on the indies with such a diversity of style and lack of "match producer" to get everyone on the same page. He's not just a "get your shit in" type of guy, even though he certainly does have shit that he gets in. Look at his run in the Scenic City Invitational for evidence. His matches with Anthony Henry and Gunner Miller are both different from each other yet were both worthy of praise in their own ways. And then the final was another big performance where he not only changed alignments from the first two matches, but changed it mid-match without seeming opportunistic or clunky. He has a feel for the crowd and for the moment, and that's a quality one cannot discount.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

91. Colin Cassady
Points: 951
Ballots: 23
Highest Vote: 25th Place (Joe Drilling)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Jeff Stormer: Colin Cassady's offense in 2015 finally seemed to match his stature. He came into his own as a 7-foot brawler.

Bob RT: A poster boy for NXT. Has progressed mightily in the ring to go with his ability to work on the stick. WWE bound in no time.

Butch Rosser: If you're wondering why the Bridge and Tunnel Boyz have yet to and will probably never capture the NXT World Tag Team Championships it's because most of the time the behemoth in the dyad's been essentially wrestling handicap matches; it's a wonder they've gotten as far as they have. Watching his "whale on somebody until Enzo's recovered enough for the Rocket Launcher" offense has escalated in effectiveness over time, which, ironically enough, is teachable.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

90. Michael Elgin
Points: 974
Ballots: 16
Highest Vote: 9th Place (Nick Ahlhelm)
Last Year's Placement: 83rd Place

Bob RT: Started off the year stagnant, and sleepwalked through his War of the Worlds performances, his career rejuvenation after coming back from NJPW was nothing short of a revelation. With a renewed passion showing through, his second half of 2015 established Big Mike as a credible World Title threat once again.

Photo via Lucha Underground Facebook

89. Son of Havoc/Matt Cross
Points: 980
Ballots: 20
Highest Vote: 18th Place (Stacey Costabile-Wenslauskis)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Bill Bicknell: Before 2015, I'd have identified Matt Cross as "that boring Tough Enough guy who was part of the worst Rey de Voladores ever." He absolutely stepped up last year everywhere I saw him, not just as Ivelisse's incompetent biker boyfriend.

Jeff Stormer: Son of Havoc made crowds hate him, then pity him, then root for him, then believe in him, then cheer so hard when he finally won.

Ryan Foster: One of the most enjoyable things in the last year of wrestling for me was watching a goofy-looking bearded man in a cheap executioner’s mask try to impress his ex-girlfriend by flipping all over the place. Son of Havoc was one of the best Lucha Underground performers on a weekly basis, hitting a perfect median between the acrobatic lucha style and the grimy, hard hitting feel of the temple.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

88. Mark Briscoe
Points: 985
Ballots: 21
Highest Vote: 18th Place (Christopher Zinn)
Last Year's Placement: 85th Place

TH: Chicken Briscoe always puts a smile on my face with his facial expressions, body language, and his complete disregard for his own health with some of the bumps he takes. He brings energy to every match he's in.

Bob RT: The lesser decorated of the two Briscoe brothers held service in 2015 while his brother held the ROH World Championship for the first six months of the year. Definitely showed what he could do throughout the year on his own, and had some stellar PPV outings.

Francis Adu: There's probably no one in wrestling who works as consistently hard as Mark Briscoe. He's willing to kill himself every match even when he's jobbing or not getting much time. Also, I like his gruff Appalachian wildman gimmick a bit more than his brother Jay's. Every roster could use a Mark Briscoe.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

87. Alexa Bliss
Points: 992
Ballots: 23
Highest Vote: 23rd Place (Bill Bicknell)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: Even when she was a placeholder opponent between "big" challenges for Sasha Banks, Bliss stood out. Her ability to sell and go with the flow of her opponent's offense has been evident even before she was allowed to do offensive maneuvers. But then she turned heel and developed both a meanstreak and an appropriate offense for a baddie of her size. It's hard for anyone to standout in the shadow of the Horsewomen, but Bliss did just that.

Bill Bicknell: Everyone's so into the hashtag diva's revolution that I feel like we've slept on how great Alexa Bliss has gotten. She's got such a great range of emotion and her wrestling has improved by leaps and bounds, too.

Jeff Stormer: Alexa Bliss put the pieces together in 2015, becoming first a babyface that was easy to rally behind--and then a positively masterful bratty heel with the hard-hitting offense to back it up.

Butch Rosser: Despite being a perpetual disappoint to Our Lady Mama Bliss of Perpetual Agelessness, Alexa did for facial reactions what Steph Curry does from pretty much the time he walks into an arena. Her heel turn improved her exponentially, and her as the centerpiece with two guys as ineffectual eye candy continues a great inversion of a widely disseminated trope. Here's hope she gets more ring time and more time to curdle her upper list in disgust at the unwashed masses this year.

Francis Adu: Before 2015, Bliss showed quite a bit of potential to be a fascinating future core member of NXT's women's division with her athleticism and unique sprite-like look. However, her heel turn in May 2015 unlocked even more potential than I realized as she used her new mean streak to utilize her athleticism with more viciousness. Bliss truly felt like a jerk and; even a bit dangerous despite her tiny size. Bliss is by no means a ring general yet but her demonstrated ability to portray character made for an entertaining year and a higher ceiling than previously thought.

Ryan Foster: Who knew that a wrestler who started out working a Tinker Bell gimmick could benefit so much from developing a mean streak? Bliss still has a lot of developing to do as a worker but learning the heel style has done wonders for her already. Bliss deserves a major program soon to show what she can really do.

Scott Holland: Judging Alexa Bliss is, unfairly or not, an exercise in seeing where she ranks against legendary years from several other NXT wrestlers. In the context of the full roster, or the TWB100 at large, she’s clearly got room for improvement. But as a standalone wrestler, I almost always enjoy her matches. She seems to have a good understanding of maximizing her size and, for lack of a better term, doing stuff that looks like it should hurt.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

86. Aiden English
Points: 1011
Ballots: 25
Highest Vote: 17th Place (Jesse Powell)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: English may not have the dazzling grappling that his partner has, but he's certainly taken ownership of what a high-flying spot machine might have looked like in the olden days. Imagine Georg Hackenschmidt doing a senton atomico; English probably gave the most insight into that possibility.

Bill Bicknell: *pantomime silent film motions indicating that English is a great wrestler but really needs to stop doing that "wear your own T-shirt like a serape" thing that wrestlers do, stay in character man*

Jeff Stormer: He showed real fire in the run to Takeover: Brooklyn, earning his spot as NXT Tag Champion, and nicely established a character as a fired-up babyface with a sense of honor.

Bob RT: Good for what he is. Has found his niche with Gotch in the Vaudevillians and has definitely carved out a spot as a comedy tag act in NXT, and hopefully on the main roster.

Butch Rosser: One of the perennials of NXT's tag division finally had everything coalesce together in the best year of his life from both in and out of the ring perspectives. Whether he was being a beloved champion or subtly and then blatantly returning back to his villainous roots, the Gentleman's Grappler could always be counted on to deliver solidly with occasional borderline greatness, and they still have yet to give him a spotlight big enough to showcase all of the talent I suspect he has on offer.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

85. Kazuchika Okada
Points: 1020
Ballots: 14
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Nick Ahlhelm)
Last Year's Placement: 98th Place

David Kincannon: New Japan’s working relationship with Ring of Honor allowed Kazuchika Okada to work six matches in the US and Canada in 2015, and even with that small sample size, it’s still clear to see why he’s considered one of the very best in the world.

Elliot Imes: My number 6 pick. He rains goodness upon us all. He's able to adjust his style and have a compelling match with anyone.

Bob RT: I'm biased here, and ranked him way higher than most, but I think he's one of the greatest performers in the world, and proved it in the States during his limited showings in ROH. I can watch him work a paper bag. Great at what he does.

Butch Rosser: The Rainmaker is one of the ten best wrestlers in the world. Full stop. But since the IWGP World Champion obviously doesn't do most of his work here, he lands here. Whatever; we all know what the facts are.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

84. Enzo Amore
Points: 1039
Ballots: 25
Highest Vote: 24th Place (Joe Drilling)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Rich Thomas: Enzo Amore reminds me of a specific kind of guy would see at the bar. He is a guy who seems like he is always about to start something, but you never know if he is up to it. That is what makes him dangerous.

Jeff Stormer: Maybe the most improved of 2015. Went from being essentially a manager to a guy I actively look forward to seeing in the ring. Makes getting beaten up and thrown around (both by his enemies and his partner) an art-form.

Butch Rosser: The Catchphrase King was seemingly put on Earth for two simple objectives: to handle the microphone like Van Exel, and to get beaten up like a Pistons fan in '04. His journey from favorite insult generator of a then-on-commentary William Regal to the man who had 14,000 rocking and singing along to his intro the night before SummerSlam has been breathtaking on its own, but he's bolstered in with more & better in-ring offense to the point where he and Cass might jump ponds without even getting a splash of championship gold beforehand--something that's borderline unheard of. At the rate he's going he'll be the first person to figure out how to run down a beach into his own arms.

Scott Holland: Enzo Amore is a certified G and a bona fide stud, and he’s also doing his damndest to prove he belongs in a WWE ring. I don’t necessarily think TWB100 votes should hinge on one singular performance (provided the voter has seen a fuller slate of said candidate’s work), but Amore excelled at TakeOver: London, which represents the kind of match he can be expected to deliver as the situation warrants. I want to see Enzo win for many reasons, but it’s important that among them are his ability to hold his own in a fight even when others might write him off as insignificant.

Photo Credit: Mikey Nolan

83. Brian Cage
Points: 1043
Ballots: 21
Highest Vote: 12th Place (Ryan Foster)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Jeff Stormer: The Man They Call Cage was an unexpected but perfect addition to Lucha Underground: he looked like a monster when paired with the smaller luchadors, and his absurd hoss style both looked vicious and elevated his opponents.

Ryan Foster: Lucha Underground is the ideal environment for Cage, where he can thrive as the giant over-muscled meathead throwing around guys a quarter his size. Plus he rid us of the dull original LU championship belt so good on him.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

82. Dash Wilder
Points: 1044
Ballots: 29
Highest Vote: 19th Place (Willow Maclay)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: In many ways, Wilder was the biggest revelation in 2015 in NXT. Dawson showed chops before, but Wilder, to the point where his team broke out, was part of the milquetoast crowd of PC graduates bunched together. Once he was given a direction, his in-ring work started to take shape, and he was perfectly suited as the second half of an old-school Andersons tribute act.

Jeff Stormer: There's something to be said for doing one thing well, and Dash and Dawson are very good at convincingly tearing up knees.

Bob RT: Love the old school gimmick, works perfect in NXT. How that will translate to the main roster remains to be seen, but for now it's very enjoyable.

Butch Rosser: D-Dubs went from a nobody to a NXT World Tag Team Champion and somebody I would regard as sneakily good. Of course part of this is due to the fact that he's gotten more time to show off his skillset but most of this can be attributed to his long residency under the learning tree that he's getting from his partner, the higher rated Scott Dawson. Just because you give somebody lemons and water and sugar doesn't mean they put it together correctly; so far Dash has. And barring injury, onward and upward for him.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

81. Silver Ant
Points: 1046
Ballots: 15
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (David Kincannon)
Last Year's Placement: 50th Place

TH: Silver Ant was maybe the hardest hit in terms of focus by the Challenge of the Immortals, but he was able to show off range, not only in terms of base style, but also in terms of emotional pitch and alignment. Basically, he became far more than Chikara's ambassador to the #grapplefrick community. No matter where he was needed, he did his job and did it well.

Bill Bicknell: *writes "In 2015, Silver was gold" before retiring to sip martinis by the pool, satisfied with my excellent work*

David Kincannon: Some might call me a Chikara homer, but I honestly believe that Silver Ant is one of the finest wrestlers in the world. His technical game is amazing to me, and in 2015, he added some amazing in-ring character work. For me, his story was the highlight of the Challenge of the Immortals tournament, and his increased aggressiveness in the ring went right along with his dark descent as a part of Nasmaldun’s empire.

Jeff Stormer: Silver Ant is quietly the most versatile guy in CHIKARA. Whether he's a tecnico or rudo, submission specialist or Strong Style brawler, he can do anything, and do it super well.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

80. Eddie Kingston
Points: 1060
Ballots: 20
Highest Vote: 21st Place (Joe Ellis)
Last Year's Placement: 52nd Place

Bill Bicknell: I got to see Eddie Kingston spend ten minutes trading bombs with Blaster McMassive in Columbus and it fulfilled a lifetime's worth of HOSSFIGHT personal goals. Also he ate all of my chocolate buckeyes.

David Kincannon: If you’ve never seen Eddie Kingston throw a suplex, a forearm, or a backfist, you’re missing out. The man is the very definition of intensity, and desire. His AAW championship defense against Josh Alexander in January was a thing of ugly beauty.

Jeff Stormer: The spotlight shifted away from Eddie in CHIKARA in 2015, and he spent much of the year a bit lost in the Challenge of the Immortal shuffle. But that's probably for the best for him, because, free of storyline obligations, he could get back to doing what he does best--being a vicious, hard-hitting brawler.

Scott Holland: I saw one live wrestling show in 2015 and Eddie Kingston was on it. It was the only time I saw Eddie Kingston wrestle at all in 2015, for that matter. But he captured my attention instantly and earned what I consider one of the highest compliments you can pay a wrestler: His character shone through his work in the ring, but in the way that authenticated both the performer and the performance. This was especially important for me as a fan who, going in, didn’t have a real good understanding of any of the characters on the show.

Photo Credit: Mikey Nolan

79. Candice LeRae
Points: 1100
Ballots: 19
Highest Vote: 13th Place (Bob Godfrey, Hayley Erin)
Last Year's Placement: 33rd Place

David Kincannon: Whether part of The World’s Cutest Tag Team, or on her own as a singles wrestler, Candice LeRae delivers in the ring. I highly suggest finding her match vs Tessa Blanchard from April 2015.

Elliot Imes: I've only seen her work in PWG, but that's good enough for me. She makes any match she's in at least ten times more fun.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

78. Chuck Taylor
Points: 1139
Ballots: 21
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Mike Pankowski)
Last Year's Placement: 61st Place

TH: Taylor is not everyone's cup of tea, but if he is, then he's a much-enjoyable cup of tea. He was one of the best comedic performers in the best company for those kinds of wrestlers, and his interplay with the Swamp Monster was a high point of any match he was in.

Rich Thomas: To me Hideo Itami had the best Wrestlemania weekend. He had three great matches, including give the NXT San Jose show the GTS, and a great performance in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Every match I saw him in this year I loved him. If he didn’t get hurt he would be in my top 5.

Jeff Stormer: 2015 was a hell of a retirement tour for Chuck Taylor. It's a shame we'll never see him wrestle again, but his as long as his influence can be felt in newcomers like Scoot Tatum, Rick Beanbag, Bugg Nevans, and Touch Philips, it'll be like he never left.

Bob RT: Wildly entertaining. He "gets it", probably will never be on the top of a promotion, but good enough to be a viable piece to one for as long as he wants.

Frank McCormick: Simply, no one does comedy matches better than Chuck Taylor. He makes it look easy, when it is anything but. And the fact is that Chuck Taylor's just a good, underappreciated wrestler in general anyway.

Mike Pankowski: Chuck Taylor is the king of comedy wrestling right now. He plays the role of wrestling curmudgeon so well when playing the bad guy that you’ll boo him a second after cheering him. And if the match forces him to keep it serious, he has the skills to bring a solid match. Chuckie T is a wrestling treasure and we should be happy that he may not have retired after all.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

77. Hideo Itami
Points: 1159
Ballots: 24
Highest Vote: 13th Place (Rich Thomas)
Last Year's Placement: 36th Place

TH: Itami was off to a fine year when his unfortunate shoulder injury struck. He acclimated to NXT better than his double, Finn Bálor, and he had a nice series of matches with Tyler Breeze that helped hold down the fort on weekly television for NXT.

David Kincannon: Due to injury, Itami worked a shortened version of 2015, with his last match coming in April. However, with fantastic matches against the likes of Tyler Breeze and Finn Balor, those four months were well worth a vote for The Wrestling Blog 100.

Bob RT: Hindered by injury, he was just hitting his stride before he was sent to IR. A master at his craft, hopefully he can pick up where he left off, including popping crowds into a frenzy by hitting a GTS or two. Or twenty.

Butch Rosser: In the spring of last year, it really looked like the former KENTA was going to be the next champ up and would pry the Big X out of the angry paws of the French Canadian Murder Bear, especially with the gripping highlight package he got centered around his first WrestleMania Yet like so many of his main roster brethren, he fell victim to an injury that unmade his momentum and flatlined his year. Hopefully when he returns he can pick up where he left off. Hm. Does he have any connection to who the NXT champion is now?

Photo Credit: WWE.com

76. Tommaso Ciampa
Points: 1182
Ballots: 29
Highest Vote: 30th Place (Matthew Hollinger)
Last Year's Placement: 80th Place

Elliot Imes: I got to see him work against Fenix, and through a friend of a friend, I was allowed into the venue early and saw Ciampa and Fenix working out their match in the ring. I could tell that Ciampa has a brilliant mind for wrestling, which only furthers my immense respect for what he does inside and outside of it.

Bob RT: Main evented the ROH Anniversary show in a overbooked losing effort, then jumped ship to greener pastures, and ultimately NXT, where he shined with Johnny Gargano. Pegged by me as a WWE guy from the first time I saw him, I was very impressed to see him in a WWE ring.

Butch Rosser: I hadn't had a lot of exposure to Ciampa before Evolve became a subsidiary of WWE's subsidiary, but even I have to laugh at this ostensible Whitemeat Babyface #282 he's being presented as. That said, "hard hitting badass" is always going to be compelling, and his match against Samoa Joe may've been the best less-than-10 minute match put on a TV show last year. Whether or not NXT gives him a rocket up the card or he stomps around the indies and presumably horrifies small children, any match with Ciampa in it is worth at least a perusal. There are several future Hall of Famers left off of my ballot that I couldn't say that about, but I could in his case.

The countdown resumes TOMORROW as the list will get to the halfway point.

The Bucks superkick EVERYONE but will they superkick the field? Photo Credit; Devin Chen

The final first round bracket happens today, and the tournament will head into the present. First though, I will recap the 2000s Region winners in the blockquote:

Dudley Boys, BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs, Edge and Christian, Motor City Machine Guns, SteenErico, Second City Saints, Hardy Boys, The World's Greatest Tag Team

Twenty-four winners are up; who will the last eight be? YOU DECIDE below.

No. 1 Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)
Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions, four-time and current Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Tag Team Champions, Chikara Campeones de Parejas, four-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Dragon Gate USA Open the United Gate Champions, 2011 and 2013 TWB Bloggie Award Winners for Best Tag Team, just a couple of real humble guys

vs. No. 16 War Machine (Hanson and Ray Rowe)
Current ROH Tag Team Champions, most beard per square inch combined in wrestling history



No. 8 The Shield (Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns)
WWE World Tag Team Champions, breakup still a source of consternation among fans all over the world

vs. No. 9 Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero)
ROH Tag Team Champions, two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, still teasing breakups even in retirement



No. 4 reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish)
Three-time ROH Tag Team Champions, two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, best team formed out of spite in history

vs. No. 13 New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston)
Two-time current WWE World Tag Team Champions, definitely not booty



No. 5 American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards)
Two-time ROH Tag Team Champions, five-time TNA Tag Team Champions, have nearly sold five total moves in their tag tenure (all by Edwards)

vs. No. 12 Osirian Portal (Ophidian and Amasis)
Chikara Campeones de Parejas, the most accurate depiction of Egyptians in wrestling history



No. 2 The Addiction/Fortune/Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian)
ROH Tag Team Champions, two-time TNA Tag Team Champions, part-time appletini sommeliers

vs. No. 15 Killer Elite Squad (Lance Hoyt and Davey Boy Smith, Jr.)
IWGP Tag Team Champions, current GHC Tag Team Champions, two-time National Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Champions, may still want to mangle Brandon Stroud



No. 7 Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero)
Chikara Campeones de Parejas, 2006 Chikara Tag World Grand Prix winners, two-time ROH Tag Team Champions, PWG Tag Team Champions, two-time Combat Zone Wrestling Tag Team Champions, very sad they weren't able to replicate that success in WWE

vs. No. 10 Devastation Corporation (Max Smashmaster and Blaster McMassive)
Chikara Campeones de Parejas, 2014 Chikara King of Trios winners (With Flex Rumblecrunch), have a shrine with Sidney Bakabella's hairpiece in their van



No. 3 The Usos (Jimmy and Jey)
Two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, want to know the exchange rate on Samoan superkicks to American ones

vs. No. 14 Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield and Mr. Touchdown)
Chikara Campeones de Parejas, 2014 Wrestling Is Fun! Tag World Grand Prix winners, currently mad at Oz each other



No. 6 Beer Money, Inc. (Bobby Roode and James Storm)
Five-time and current TNA Tag Team Champions, could be doing this in NXT but James Storm was playin'

vs. No. 11 Them Fightin' Rhodes Boys (Cody and Goldust)
Two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions, still sad that they lost their papa



Get the vote out and complete the first round. DO IT!

The Hitman's show is on the docket this week Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: The Sharpshooter Show
Episode: 3/1/16
Run Time: 59:28
Guest: Blade Hart

Summary: This is the debut episode of a new venture from WrestleZone Radio: The Sharpshooter Show with Bret Hart. Though Hart is the big name on the show, he is more like the permanent guest, as the show is actually hosted and conducted by Nick Hausman, quite similar to the setup of WOOOO! Nation with Ric Flair. Hausman asks him about that week's episode of RAW, which saw the beginning of Dean Ambrose and Triple H's feud. As Roman Reigns stays off TV, Bret wonders why the writers in WWE won't get out of his way and just let him get over with the fans on his own. Hausman ends the first segment by getting Hart's thoughts on Peyton Manning's retirement and recent Donald Trump happenings. The second half of the show brings in Bret's son Blade. Together, all three of them discuss and break down Bret's Ironman Match with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 12. The end of the show features a quick mailbag segment, concluding with a song from Cam'ron called "Sharpshooter."

Quote of the Week: Bret, on the different crowd reactions for Ambrose and Reigns - "Dean Ambrose, he sells. He gets sympathy when he's getting kicked down and beaten up by Lesnar and different guys, there's a pang of sympathy that goes with his character where you feel for him. Unfortunately for Roman Reigns, it's really hard for the people to feel for him. They could be cutting his head off in the middle of the ring, and...it just doesn't seem to work."

Why you should listen: We all know Bret is a very intelligent guy who thinks deeply and critically about the tiniest details in wrestling. Even if you don't agree with everything he says, he will at least make you think about the product in a way you maybe hadn't before. This first episode benefits from the goodwill generated in the wake of Bret's successful prostate surgery, and our relief in the strong likelihood that he has beaten cancer for the foreseeable future. It is a great feeling to have him still with us and doing things like giving us new behind-the-scenes details about the Ironman Match.

Why you should skip it: There is a baffling amount of promotion going on in this first episode. One sponsor is a seafood restaurant in the Baltimore area, and though they do online orders, I sure won't be ordering crab through the mail anytime soon. The other sponsor is Sharpshooter Funding, a company co-owned by Blade Hart that gives loans to small businesses. This is the only explanation for Blade even being on the show, because he speaks for a total of maybe two minutes and essentially contributes nothing, other than talking about the greatness of his company.

Final Thoughts: Bret Hart has never been the world's most charismatic talker. Father Time has also done a number on his voice, giving him a perpetual rasp that isn't exactly pleasant. Your enjoyment of this show will be highly dependent on your reverence for Bret as a performer and icon. If you love him, you'll appreciate his negative opinions on current WWE storylines and booking, and you'll hang on his every word about Wrestlemania 12. If you think Bret is an arrogant mark for himself, then you'll have sufficient proof for your case as Bret continues to believe that WWF sandbagged him prior to the Ironman Match, and also that if a wrestler is caught on two occasions loudly calling a high spot, he should be fired. The full glory of Bret Hart's wisdom and weirdness is on display in this episode, and future episodes will surely provide more of it. Hopefully, they can get some of the weak spots fixed and/or thrown out, and we can only pray that they will realize that no one wants to get fried fish delivered to their door.

Jay Briscoe kicks off today's TWB 100 portion Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

The first quadrant of wrestlers for the TWB 100 were unveiled yesterday. I don't want to keep you waiting too much longer as the list gets up to the halfway point.

75. Jay Briscoe
Points: 1269
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 13th Place (Matthew Hollinger)
Last Year's Placement: 45th Place

TH: Jay Briscoe is one of the best brawlers in indie wrestling history, period. He got plenty of opportunity to show it off, even though some of his matches were marred by overbooking *cough cough*Anniversary Show*cough cough*. He had no shortage of great matches to back up his reputation, including an excellent bout with Bobby Fish at the New Japan set of shows in Philly. Say what you want about him otherwise, but the elder Briscoe is a fine in-ring competitor.

Bob RT: Hate him or love him, he was strong in 2015, delivering in pretty much whatever was asked of him, including the amazing build to Best In The World, where he and Jay Lethal put on a classic.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

74. Johnny Gargano
Points: 1277
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote: 17th Place (Stygimoloch)
Last Year's Placement: 75th Place

Bob RT: Another indie lifer getting the call to NXT, and he did not disappoint.

Butch Rosser: The lucky bastard and future Mr. LeRae found himself on the biggest stage of his career to date with a few matches in NXT that got the formerly unfamiliar more acquainted with Johnny Wrestling, and he even got to notch a few W's in the process. Of course, this happened in conjunction with a tag title run over in EVOLVE, alongside a tag team partner that's probably Reason #3,292 that Jim Cornette's going to stroke out before the year's over, but that's here nor there--the important thing is that we engineer a situation where Baron Corbin yells at him to go back to IWA Mid-South.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

73. Stardust
Points: 1290
Ballots: 27
Highest Vote: 15th Place (Frank McCormick)
Last Year's Placement: 28th Place

Bill Bicknell: Look, Stardust had a pair of giant leather guardian lions standing next to him at ringside so he could make Frank Gorshin faces while I clapped like a baby. That's a fast track to my heart.

Jeff Stormer: Whether it was his open challenge with Cena or his SummerSlam match with Stephen Amell, Stardust was a workhorse in 2015, delivering in whatever he was asked to do.

Bob RT: Cody got the most out of what he could with the gimmick that has become staler than week old bread, but when a (B-list) celebrity match is your highlight of the year, it probably wasn't a great year, and I think the man behind the paint is ready to move on from it.

Butch Rosser: I was far less offended by the Artist Formerly Known As Cody keeping up his Gorshin persona than by him being another victim of main roster booking hot garbage (noticing a pattern in this part of the countdown?) and sticking him with the essentially DOA Ascension (remember the last parenthesis like two seconds ago?). Still, it's not as if he's lost any in-ring steps; the tag match against Stephen Arnell at SummerSlam where he failed this city proved that much. He should still get to put a paper bag over the head of everyone who's consigned him this far down the ladder, however.

Scott Holland: I don’t have a way to put this into words that sound good, but Stardust inhabits his persona incredibly well — every movement connects physically and conceptually. It’s just hard for me to not be bummed about what we’re not getting to see.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

72. Scott Dawson
Points: 1291
Ballots: 31
Highest Vote: 20th Place (Willow Maclay)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: Dawson showed flashes in the past of being an above-average worker, so it's not entirely surprising he took a step forward as part of the Revival. He and Dash Wilder are arguably the backbone of the newly revitalized tag division in NXT because they are so good at playing the old-school, grumpy, limb-hating heels.

Jeff Stormer: I like Scott Dawson slightly more than Dash Wilder, but I think that's just because I've been aware of Dawson for longer.

Bob RT: Came from out of nowhere to become a staple of the NXT tag division. Proof once again as to why NXT works.

Butch Rosser: When people imitate their influences unsuccessfully, it's called a ripoff. When they succeed at it, it turns into an homage. Every wrestler should want to be like Arn Anderson anyhow; the former Mechanic turned Revivalist just turned that knob so hard it broke. Being willing to be despised and catchphrase free in the 21st century seems like a defiant act on it's own and the fact Dawson is bringing somebody up the ladder while still putting on in-ring clinics means that he can do this either as long as he wants or until his body corrodes. To paraphrase someone else who wasn't afraid of being hated? You want Scott Dawson on your roster. You need Scott Dawson on your roster.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

71. Hallowicked
Points: 1315
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Bill Bicknell)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH:'Wicked has run hot and cold for me in the past, but his newer, more evil oeuvre has led him to a comfort zone of brutal, aggressive heeling in the ring that fits him. He found the presence he's been lacking, and it made his matches flow a lot better.

Bill Bicknell: 2015 saw Hallowicked gain evil priest banners and monster armor and a DEMON HELMET. He's been secretly one of the best wrestlers on the independents for years, so it was nice to see him finally get his due with a very good top title run.

David Kincannon: Hallowicked’s turn to the dark side, thanks to Eye of Tyr based shenanigans at the end of 2014 provided some fantastic match-ups for the Chikara original. He even stepped up his game and added a new move “Never Wake Up”, a fisherman style variation on the DDT. His run as Chikara’s Grand Champion featured great matches with the likes of Shynron and, of course, the three way match between himself, Icarus, and Eddie Kingston

Jeff Stormer: In turning rudo, Hallowicked was able to spread his wings and showcase what makes him Grand Championship material. He shined in singles, tag, and trios matches alike, culminating in the brutal three-way dance at Top Banana.

Bob RT: Served as the face of CHIKARA for a good portion of 2015, and made himself a part of history at Top Banana by dropping the belt to Kimber Lee.

Brandon House: Nazmuldun's broad sword, last year gave 'Wicked a chance to show his stuff as Chikara's ace as he held the Grand Championship for much of the year. The match he won the title was good stuff as was the triple threat at the season finale. The Nightmare Warriors vs Team AAA was good too (even with Fenix loudly cursing at Frightmare)!

Photo Credit: WWE.com

70. Paige
Points: 1316
Ballots: 27
Highest Vote: 19th Place (Joe Drilling)
Last Year's Placement: 21st Place

Jeff Stormer: Though she was slightly overshadowed in the back half of the year, Paige spent much of 2015 having dynamic matches with everyone she was up against.

Butch Rosser: By the time this section is over her alignment will have changed three more times. Feh--whether showing her commitophobia outside of the ring for the Exclamation Point or in-ring showing why the Divas Revolution probably actually started with her claiming the NXT Women's Title a few years back the Anti-Diva maximized as many of her moments as she could get while still doing good to occasionally excellent work, and that's detraction-proof from the outside forces weighing on her by being demoted to Monday nights.

Scott Holland: Here’s hoping Paige actually fares better in 2016. That’s no knock on her 2015, but the field has gotten a lot deeper. She’s certainly displayed the skills to hang with the pack, I just hope not being a “horsewoman” won’t be held against her in the minds of fans. Some do say she started the Divas revolution.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

69. (nice) ACH
Points: 1328
Ballots: 24
Highest Vote: 10th Place (TH)
Last Year's Placement: 30th Place

TH: I'm an ACH guy, as referenced by my first place vote for him back in 2012. The guy just knows how to put a match together, how to balance spectacle with story, how to dazzle without losing the need to build pathos. Even though he was stuck in traction in booking in ROH for most of the year, he always went out and made the most of his airtime. His showcase matches especially, both in ROH and Inspire Pro, had big fight feels to them, largely in part because ACH played his role well, whether as an underdog or as a special attraction guest star. That's not to discount his jaw-dropping acrobatics either. Every time he flips into the ring or does an effortless, no-hands Fosbury Flop, it's a thing of beauty. Basically, ACH was one of the best wrestlers I saw last year. Especially check out his match from the Anniversary Show against AJ Styles.

Bob RT: Had a consistently good year. Started off the year with a phenomenal six man tag at the Arena. Thought he should've been involved more in some title chases, but maybe in 2016.

Butch Rosser: Groundskeeper Willie's favorite wrestler spent most of 2015 steadily working his way up the ladder in ROH and finally even got a couple of title shots to add more cred to his bona fides. It's a delight when the man out of Austin is in flight, and don't be surprised if this is the year those title shots turn into victories, especially in the Television Championship division.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

68. Aerostar
Points: 1337
Ballots: 25
Highest Vote: 17th Place (TH)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: Aerostar at times looked like he was going to topple over and get hurt, but that's just a function of his precarious signature rope walk tope. Otherwise, the Lucha Underground staple made his high-flying look effortless, even more than some of the other flyers there, and boy, LU had a ton of them. Whenever LU needed a hot match to get the blood pumping for a weekly episode, it turned to Aerostar, who had tremendous opening contests with the likes of Jack Evans, Drago, and Johnny Mundo just to name a few. His run at Trios with the other AAA guys was amazing as well. He may not have as much acclaim as some of the other stars of LU, but Aerostar certainly belongs in the conversation.

Bill Bicknell: I'd attribute most of Aerostar's success this year to his best-of-seven with Drago, which helped him rise from "that guy who's maybe a space Super Calo or something" to "HOLY WOW LOOK AT THIS DUDE." Of the 2015 King of Trios, I feel like Aerostar's the one most people sleep on, but he deserves his due.

Jeff Stormer: His 3 out of 5 series with Drago alone would've earned him a solid spot on my list. Same with Trios. That he was a vital part of both makes this an easy decision.

Ryan Foster: Aerostar was Lucha Underground’s version of Sixth Man of the Year. He wasn’t one of the main players on the show, but every time he appeared you knew you were in for one of the better matches of the evening.

Photo via Lucha Underground Facebook

67. King Cuerno
Points: 1335
Ballots: 23
Highest Vote: 13th Place (Henry Casey)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Bill Bicknell: In addition to being a fantastic wrestler and one of LU's most tragically overlooked characters (in the last half of 2015 anyway), Cuerno gets mega bonus points for the greatest out-of-ring gear in human history. I have no words.

Butch Rosser: Here's the thing, when your tope is the tightest in the industry, you could easily rest on that laurel. Worse comes to worse, you would be that POS who can only do that one thing right, but maaaaan does he ever nail it. But that'd be more befitting of something along the lines of a Pawn Cuerno, and one of Lucha Underground's brightest lights is far from the easiest piece to get off of the board. Randy Orton gets reptilian for a descriptor of his movement and looks like a spaz in the opening moments of an embolism; King Cuerno moves around the ring truly like a hunter, deliberate while being fast and decisive. AND HE COMES TO THE RING WITH A DEAD DEER ON HIS HEAD ABOVE HIS CAPE AND HAS ONLY BEEN SEEN IN COWBOY REGALIA OUTSIDE OF IT HOT *DAMN* LUCHA UNDERGROUND RULES. Sorry about the all caps. But the points still stand.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

66. Heidi Lovelace
Points: 1352
Ballots: 22
Highest Vote: 9th Place (David Kincannon)
Last Year's Placement: 54th Place

TH: Lovelace continued being Chikara's resident spitfire in 2015, settling into a regular role with the company. Her presence on cards more often than not brought the show up, as few other wrestlers right now are able to take a beating and build towards the big hot comeback like she is.

Jeff Stormer: Lovelace seemed to tighten up her offense in 2015, and in doing so, took her matches to a whole new level.

Frank McCormick: Heidi Lovelace is the best in THIS BUSINESS at getting her ass kicked. I believe that deserves some decided kudos.

Scott Holland: At my first ever Chikara show in October in Chicago, Heidi Lovelace was an absolute revelation. Perhaps some of this is attributed to my limited experience in watching legitimate intergender wrestling. Perhaps it’s live show bias. Regardless, she was an absolute badass that night (in a trios match teamed with N_R_G to defeat Blaster McMassive, Proletariat Boar of Moldov and Missile Assault Man) and I came away from that match thinking, “This, this is why you come to local shows, to see people give it their all

Photo Credit: WWE.com

65. Randy Orton
Points: 1370
Ballots: 26
Highest Vote: 14th Place (Jamie Girouard)
Last Year's Placement: 19th Place

Elliot Imes: He had a lowkey good year. Most importantly, he pulled off that amazing RKO on Rollins at WrestleMania. Not just any ol' tattooed, vaping superstar could do that, ya know.

Jamie Girouard: Orton was hit-or-miss in terms of motivation this past year, but when he cared (as in his matches with Seth Rollins) he was one of the best wrestlers in the world. The problem was there were too many matches where he clearly was going through the motions which hurt him in my eyes.

Ryan Foster: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but WWE really could have used more of Randy Orton in 2016. Building on an incredible performance at WrestleMania, Orton was starting to come back into his own when the injury plague struck. Still, Orton turned in enough spirited performances to deserve a spot on this year’s list.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

64. Alberto el Patron/del Rio
Points: 1375
Ballots: 32
Highest Vote: 13th Place (Stacey Costabile-Wenslauskis)
Last Year's Placement: 55th Place

TH: If del Rio spent the entire year in WWE, he wouldn't have made my ballot. Thankfully, his work in Lucha Underground was a lot more inspired. He felt at ease in the ring working as a top babyface, and he even got something watchable out of Texano, which is no small feat.

Bill Bicknell: EL PATRON came into Lucha Underground and seemed to have a fire lit under his belly. Amazing promos, amazing ring work, just all-around great stuff. In my headcanon he's currently residing in the "where are they now" file.

Jeff Stormer: If he had stayed on the indies, he'd probably be 10 places higher on my list, easy. His performance in Lucha Underground more than makes up for his dead-eyed WWE work.

Joey on Earth: Alberto Del Rio aka Alberto El Patron aka the moody wrestler on Twitter had a pretty weird 2015. The body of work in Lucha Underground and Ring of Honor provided great results. After a few years of irrelevance in WWE, it felt like he was rejuvenated and inspired to show just how great he was. Alberto then signed with WWE once again and he became painfully boring for the final two months of the year. At least we had the first half of 2015.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

63. Xavier Woods
Points: 1403
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Charles Humphreys)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Bill Bicknell: Good wrestler, gread character, great trombone player, dead wrong about hot dogs being a sandwich (THEY ARE).

Jeff Stormer: Arguably the weakest of the New Day in the ring, Woods still found new purpose as part of the team, and became a pretty great trios wrestler--when he actually wrestled, at least.

Bob RT: Limited in the ring, but the hype man of the New Day probably saved his career with his absolutely unlimited charisma, and ability to work the stick.

Butch Rosser: If you don't love the New Day, you're wrong, and Woods' stick work -- alongside his awesome hair styles for the specials and unshakable love of his Francescas (may the First rest in power) -- was a large reason why. Also he gave El Torito a Face Eraser on the floor during a match once, reason enough for him to get on anyone's ballot.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

62. Matt Sydal
Points: 1403 (Ranked higher than Woods because of a better high-vote)
Ballots: 25
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Joey on Earth)
Last Year's Placement: 89th Place

Bob RT: I never was an Evan Bourne fan, but becoming more of an ROH fan in 2015, I warmed up considerably to Matt Sydal. Definitely re-established himself as a more than serviceable hand.

Joey On Earth: The resurgence of Matt Sydal was one of the best stories in the independent wrestling scene. Sydal tore it up in every promotion and is a lock for an entertaining wrestling match at this point. Once known solely for his high-flying display, Sydal has become a better all-around wrestler and it was a true joy to see him perform in 2015.

Joshua Browns: Just based on the little bit I got to see of him at BOLA, it looks like Sydal is back and better than ever. Glad to see it.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

61. Shinsuke Nakamura
Points: 1423
Ballots: 18
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Bob RT, Cam Is Like)
Last Year's Placement: 78th Place

David Kincannon: Another victim of the narrow focus of this list. He is, obviously, one of the best wrestlers in the world, but had limited time to prove that in the United States and Canada. Something tells me that his place on this list will be a bit higher next year...

Bob RT: Admittedly biased, I had him ranked in my top 10 despite his limited work in America in 2015. I was absolutely in awe of him seeing him live at WOTW at the Arena, and that may have influenced my voting, but ultimately, his limited work was still some of my favorites from the year, and I think he's in the top 3 of performers in the world.

Butch Rosser: Like Okada before him, he's one of the 10 best in the world, and no one with operating brain cells would argue if he was in your FAVE FIVE. Now that he's changed employment and should have a full nine months to label his imprimatur on a ballot maker's eyes? Expect him to vault into this top 10 come next March.

Joshua Browns: His TWB 100-eligible work is such a small sample size, but c’mon. It’s f**king Swagsuke. I shouldn’t need to say anything else. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be over here with hearts coming out of my eyes until April.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

60. Bobby Fish
Points: 1434
Ballots: 24
Highest Vote: 12th Place (TH)
Last Year's Placement: 43rd Place

TH: Fish continued his mission to make ROH a far more interesting place than it is without him, and this past year, he got to run the ball not just in his reDRagon tag team, but with some singles matches as well. Predictably, he shone even by himself. Even if his Final Battle match was marred with terrible booking, he still got to show off at a high level with Roderick Strong. However, his best match of the year came against Jay Briscoe. They had a main-event level match through no small part of Fish's efforts.

Bob RT: Had one of my personal favorite matches of the year in a losing effort against Jay Briscoe for the ROH World Championship at WOTW, and proved that he is just as viable as a singles competitor as he is a tag competitor with reDRagon.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

59. Simon Gotch
Points: 1566
Ballots: 30
Highest Vote: 12th Place (Andrew Smith)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: Gotch is one of the most uniquely gifted wrestlers in WWE's employ. Using deceptive strength, supreme grappling, and timely crowd work, Gotch stood out even from his partner in the Vaudevillains. I don't want to say he's being wasted in the team, because they're an effective duo of workers, and the NXT tag division is getting better. However, his portions in those tag matches have left me wanting more, which is probably the highest compliment I could pay him.

Jeff Stormer: Gotch was already great, then he started throwing Glacier karate kicks and doing crazy submission work.

Bob RT: Love the Vaudevillains, but they just couldn't find a groove in 2015, but out their work, Gotch definitely carried the tandem, and if they do get another push, I'm sure he will be the one to shine again.

Butch Rosser: Every once in a while the more irrational parts of my brain are convinced that Simon is the best wrestler that NXT has on their roster right now. And I'm not just saying that because he retweeted a Straight Outta Compton/They Live crossover reference I made to him that happened during the parameters of the judging period.

Ryan Foster: Something tells me the word “quietly” will appear in a number of blurbs for Gotch. He isn’t flashy and works almost exclusively tag matches, but Gotch has developed such a smooth, seamless style of technical wrestling that he always manages to stand out. It’s hard to say whether he would thrive in a singles role but he’s destined to be more than a role player in a wacky tag team.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

58. Drago
Points: 1619
Ballots: 26
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Henry Casey)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: LU's legit dragon was one of the sliest good workers. He was better known for the theatrics, but he often turned in solid efforts against a wide variety of opponents. He had his array of flips and dives, but it felt like he acted more like a "cruiserweight bully" which was a nice counterweight to all the high flyers on the television show.

Bill Bicknell: Drago is perfect. He has a perfect aesthetic. He has a monster tongue. He moves like he's 20 rather than 40. He's the sort of wrestler that you can point to and scream, "THIS, THIS, THIS IS WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS STUPID HOBBY." He's ridiculous and amazing and silly and wonderful.

David Kincannon: In addition to be fantastic in the ring, he’s a literal fire-breathing dragon... how could he not make this list?

Jeff Stormer: Drago moves like a dragon, flies like a dragon, and fights like a dragon. It's really cool to watch.

Butch Rosser: If six-year-old me could reach, he'd beat the crap out of me for not having the nunchuk-wielding black-tongued fireibreathing luchador at the top spot, and little me's got a little bit of a point there. His rivalry and friendship with Aerostar (in six-year-old me's FAVE FIVE for sure) was one of the many subcurrents that made Lucha Underground's season 1 pop off the screen so well, and even in a hypersurreal environment he managed to make himself appointment television while standing out in his own right and putting on excellent matches concurrently.

Brandon House: HE'S A BLOODY DRAGON!

Photo Credit: WWE.com

57. Tyson Kidd
Points: 1656
Ballots: 31
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Brandon Rohwer)
Last Year's Placement: 14th Place

TH: Kidd suffered the cruelest break of them all when he got injured in the middle of last year, as he was in the middle of a decent at the very least tag run with Cesaro. While it might be insulting to call him a tag wrestler, he works so well in those kinds of matches and is at his most enjoyable.

Jamie Girouard: The career-threatening injury to Kidd was a crying shame, because he really was coming into his own in the Cesaro tag-team. Tyson Kidd for a full year would've been knocking on the door of the top-10, if not higher.

Jeff Stormer: Though tragically cut short--thank goodness he can still walk--Kidd had a great year, rising from the bottom of the tag division to win the titles with Cesaro.

Bob RT: Absolutely devastating injury derailed his 180 turnaround. Was doing the best work of his career with Cesaro.

Butch Rosser: It was all going so well TK was bringing that which had made his NXT resuscitation such a delight to the masses writ large, his rad bromance with Cesaro showed off Finn-Poe levels of chemistry, and it seemed like after almost a decade of not getting his due that his time has come. Sadly for us all, it looks like a fluke accident means this may be his last entry on the 100. Even if this isn't the way he wanted to go, let's remember the fact that he'd evolved to his best possible self before Murphy's Law pulled him over

Ryan Foster: This sport just isn’t fair. After years of doing nothing, Kidd was starting to thrive in not one, but two roles. On the main roster, Kidd was able to capitalize on his partner Cesaro’s connection with the crowd to rediscover his legs and start to pick up some charisma in his own right. In NXT he became a workhorse, making every opponent look great and improving with each appearance. Kidd’s year – any quite possible career – shouldn’t have ended like it did.

Scott Holland: If you let yourself think about it long enough, the sadness of Tyson Kidd’s career likely being over just when it was finally ready to skyrocket is much sadder than having to say goodbye to Daniel Bryan. His 2015 run with Cesaro is the textbook example of what can happen to people willing to be “demoted” to NXT, and anyone who missed the tag team WrestleMania 31 title match because it was on the pre-show is only cheating themselves.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

56. Biff Busick
Points: 1709
Ballots: 26
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Kenn Haspel)
Last Year's Placement: 35th Place

Joshua Browns: Another hard-nosed technical favorite, except with a little less flexibility than say, a Drew Gulak. I love the “tiny psycho” persona, he plays it beautifully, and it just works with the violence of his offense. When he really lays into his strikes, especially that wicked running European uppercut, he routinely makes me wince in pain. His match with Chris Hero in the 2nd Round of BOLA this year is a favorite of mine.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

55. Ethan Carter III
Points: 1738
Ballots: 27
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Bill Bicknell)
Last Year's Placement: 56th Place

Rich Thomas: If Carter was in any other company, people would be talking about him being the wrestler of the year. He was many time the only reason to watch Impact other than the car crash aspect.

Bill Bicknell: I find it really hard to explain why the esteemed Carter causes me to explode into a shower of heart-eyes every time I see him. He's really, really good at his job. His character arc has made sense and has seen him grow and develop--and in TNA, where Abyss is STILL in a SCARY MONSTER STABLE called THE DECAY, that's a bolt out of the blue. Carter is something special, and if more people were watching the show he was on, he'd be in everyone's top ten.

David Kincannon: Carter is a figurative oasis in the desert that is TNA. He has been the best part of that promotion ever since he debuted, and he did not disappoint in 2015.

Bob RT: The only reason I paid attention to TNA last year, and solidified himself as one of the best heels on the game. Plus his work locally at HoH at the Arena was very good.

Sean Williams: Glad to see Carter get his due, as I was worried I was the last remaining human being watching TNA. He's the guy that TNA did, and should (at least for a little bit) build the company around. Supremely entertaining in the ring, he had a ton of memorable matches while never really being a ZOMG moves guy, and seeing as how I AM a ZOMG MOVES! guy, that's a pretty big complement.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

54. Dolph Ziggler
Points: 1741
Ballots: 30
Highest Vote: 11th Place (Jesse Powell)
Last Year's Placement: 10th Place

Elliot Imes: He's the king of Trying Too Hard, and the love for him has certainly cooled off in recent years. But he always gives his best for the people, and we should always love him for that.

Brandon House: Dolph brings up the rear of my list because he always has these matches that are usually pretty good, but never great. There are a lot of good Dolph Ziggler matches, but none I could say are must see, y'know?

Photo Credit: WWE.com

53. Bray Wyatt
Points: 1760
Ballots: 35
Highest Vote: 12th Place (Joe Drilling)
Last Year's Placement: 15th Place

Brandon House: Some of the matches against Roman Reigns were pretty decent and the Wyatt Family vs. Team ECW match in Philly was fun!

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

52. Trevor Lee
Points: 1763
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote:1st Place (Okori Wadsworth)
Last Year's Placement: 73rd Place

TH: I didn't get to see much of Lee this past year, but his crazy, Carolina junior heavyweight caveman act was amusing and entertaining when I got a chance to peep it. I hope to catch more of him in 2016.

Okori Wadsworth: Trevor Lee is the 21st-century version of a distinctly 70's thing, namely, the hometown superhero. Like Jack Brisco in Florida, or Verne Gagne in Chicago, Trevor becomes infinitely better in the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium in North Carolina. He's entertaining in PWG, and loaded with potential in the dying husk that is TNA, but for CWF Mid-Atlantic he is godly. Just watch his title match against Brad Attitude or his young-boying of Darius Lockhart.

David Kincannon: The Carolina Caveman just gets better and better. 2015 was a great year for him, as he excelled everywhere from his home promotion of CWF Mid-Atlantic to PWG to AAW (Lee vs Eddie Kingston vs Ethan Page was absolutely briliant) or anywhere else he wrestled. I look for more big things from him in 2016.

Brandon House: I don't think I've ever seen someone who entertains me and makes me fear for their well being like Trevor Lee. Dude is probably a little bit crazy, but sometimes you need a little crazy.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

51. Speedball Mike Bailey
Points: 1784
Ballots: 26
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Greg Johnson, Francis Adu)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: Bailey may have been the revelation of 2015 for me. The dude packed so much pure energy into one, chubby Canadian frame that it was unbelievable to my eyes as I was watching him go. In many ways, he's the platonic super indie wrestler because he embodies that sort of strikes and MOVEZ ethos but seems to know how to mold it into a coherent match frame. His bout with Roderick Strong in PWG this year was among the best.

Elliot Imes: God bless him for having the most embarrassing farmer's tan I've ever seen, and still going out there and having a completely believable PWG World Title match with Roderick Strong. He looks like a total goober, but he wrestles like a king.

Joey On Earth: My favorite new independent wrestling star in 2015 was Mike “Speedball” Bailey. Speedball was tearing it up before 2015 but seeing him emerge as a standout star in PWG and EVOLVE was wonderful. Bailey’s matches with Chris Hero and Roderick Strong in both promotions were among my favorite all year. The sky is the limit for the most adorable human being that can probably kill you with his kicks if he wanted to.

Tomorrow, the list will be 75 percent unveiled.

Demolition is in action... will they win? Photo Credit: WWE.com

All the first round matches for Tag Team Turmoil are COMPLETE. The 2010s Region finished up, and the results are in the blockquote:

Young Bucks, The Shield, New Day, Osirian Portal, The Addiction, Kings of Wrestling, The Throwbacks, Beer Money, Inc.

Now, the tournament is ready to move into ROUND TWO, and to start, it will move back into the '80s and '90s with some fierce matches. Get to voting, everyone!

1980s Region

No. 1 Rock 'n Roll Express
Hot-tagged their way over the Twin Towers

vs. No. 9 Sheepherders/Bushwhackers
Rubbed the Fantastics into their armpits



No. 4. Demolition
Demolition-Device'd the Soul Patrol

vs. No. 12 British Bulldogs
Had Matilda lick the Brisco Bros.



No. 2 Midnight Express
Used Jim Cornette to distract Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez

vs. No. 7 Hart Foundation
Excellently executed the Rockers



No. 3 Fabulous Freebirds
Freebird ruled their way over Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood

vs. No. 6 Brainbusters/Four Horsemen
Busted up the Fabulous Ones



1990s Region

No. 1 Steiner Bros.
Steiner-lined the Quebecers

vs. No. 8 Eliminators
TOTAL ELIMINATION'd the Gangstaz



No. 4 Harlem Heat
Slapjacked the Miracle Violence Connection

vs. No. 5 New Age Outlaws
Told Sting and Lex Luger to suck it



No. 2 Road Warriors/Legion of Doom
Snacked on the danger that was Phil LaFon and Doug Furnas

vs. No. 7 Outsiders
Invaded the Nasty Boys



No. 14 Natural Disasters
Sat on the Public Enemy

vs. No. 11 Hollywood Blondes
Ended Owen Hart and Yokozuna's brush with greatness



Get to votin', y'all!

This confrontation is run down in detail on Cheap Heat Photo Credit: WWE.com

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: Cheap Heat
Episode:“Austin Austin Austin, Oi Oi Oi” (March 17, 2016)
Run Time: 1:07:13
Guest: Alexa Rosenberg (1:01:29)

Summary: Peter Rosenberg, David Shoemaker and Stat Guy Greg open with a roundtable about America’s drinking holidays before looking back at Roadblock, discussing Neville’s ankle injury and other RAW moments, leading to speculation about what might be left in the builds for various WrestleMania 32 feuds and wondering who the top heels actually are at the moment. They take listener questions, which leads to some Steve Austin reminiscing, then talk about TV shows and revisit the Hulk Hogan-Gawker trial —interrupted by trying to recall various wrestling animals and mascots — then break down the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame class before Rosenberg’s wife calls in for no apparent reason. Greg hits us with corrections, and we’re out.

Quote of the week: Shoemaker: “The Shane-Undertaker thing, as we discussed, it was very, very important to make it clear that this was going to be a wrestling match and not a schmozzfest and … we’re not waiting to see who’s gonna fight in Shane’s place. They need to make it really clear that one, these two guys are gonna go; and two, that they can, that they’re capable of going, right? That was the most important thing, way more important than explaining what the hell the lockbox is, they needed to convince us that this is a real match. And I think with Triple H and Roman Reigns, I think that it’s just a separate consideration. The only thing that has worked in this feud, from the get-go, is these crazy beatdowns. The only thing that the crowd reacts to is people getting, you know, slammed through ringside tables, people getting hit with foreign objects, it’s the only thing that gets the crowd going.”

Why you should listen: Shoemaker does a decent job explaining the context and highlights that made Roadblock a success. They pleasantly give Neville’s situation much more attention than I expected, and the discussions about the heel scene (that Charlotte might be the highest on the card trying to and succeeding at being booed) and the function of certain RAW segments are exactly the kind of insight that make this show worth hearing. The same can be said for the Hall Of Fame discussion and Austin nostalgia, though those portions are comparatively less consistent.

Why you should skip it: Perhaps they didn’t know the episode they recorded Wednesday morning wouldn’t drop until midday Thursday, which is the only plausible excuse for not giving a single breath to the NXT Takeover card now that it’s pretty well defined. At the very least it would have been nice to hear discussion about the NXT tag team match at Roadblock. Further, I understand it’s WrestleMania season, but it stuns me the guys can go weeks without even thinking about Lucha Underground, because that show is the hottest of fire nearly every episode. Aside from those gripes, there are a few useless tangents, and the phone call from Rosenberg’s wife was beyond pointless.

Final thoughts: This is far from the best Cheap Heat can be. However, given the fact the guys clearly don’t aspire to maximize their significant potential, this one is close to what they probably consider great. Mixing in the Austin memories is a great touch perfect for the core audience — if you’re going to stray from the main topic, at least keep it in the ballpark — and there’s enough insight different from the conventional online wisdom that makes you feel you’ve learned something. The pop culture stuff is at least over quickly, and I ended being more invested in the WWE product than when I started and eager for next week’s installment. Cheap Heat could always be better than it is, but the weeks when as good as you’re likely to get remain satisfying.

You would've thought American Alpha vaulting into the number one contendership spot by conquering their latest pair of ex-champions would've been the big moment from the St. Patrick's Day Eve episode. It was the main event, after all.

...yeah, no.

But hey, what about that picture above? Did Asuka actually get to use Full Sail's least favorite Total Diva as her own kick bag? Well, then shouldn't that be the big takeaway from the show, especially since she and Emma have a main event Takeover: London rematch next week on the penultimate show before Takeover: Dallas?

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

...you know what, any non-Aiden English is going to fail at a moment like this, anyways. Monkeys in the truck, roll the tape!

You might need to watch that again.

Hell, you might need to re-rewatch it again after that.

Anyways, this was the official moment where the space-time continuum finally officially ruptured and landed us in Earth-526, as the King of Strong Style Shinsuke Bleeping Nakamura made his first official appearance on WWE programming by announcing he was going to face El Generico...'s last trainee, Sami Zayn in the biggest match in the offshoot's history on the biggest stage they'll have to date. If you can't get it up for two of the best ten wrestlers in the world meeting on a platform that big for the first time ever in the new dictionary definition of a dream match then stop telling people you'll cover their legal fees if they punch out peaceful protestors at your rallies.

Sami Zayn v. Shinsuke Nakamura (billed as such, to boot) at Takeover: Dallas. That's going to be a thing. That's going to be A Thing. That could up end up being THE Thing. That's going to happen.

Another will be the aforementioned Alpha males of NXT taking on the Revival with the tag straps up for grabs. It seemed pretty much a fait accompli that this was what was going to occur, interesting as another rematch between the current champions and the manly throwbacks they usurped them from would've been on that big a stage in front of a crowd that should be ostensibly one soaked and dyed in Full Sail's wool writ large. Still, though, the only disappointment in the headlining match was that it ran 10 closer to 20; who doesn't to watch Chad Gable and Simon Gotch go hold-for-hold on the mat for a few spells? No wonder Dan Gable's (no relation) on the RWG bandwagon. While the Vaudevillians were a bit more heelish in their tactics, it never really fully translated to outright Cheneydom, and as it goes in 2016 once Jason Jordan gets the tag you might as well hit your back and look at the lights. The only thing keeping the upcoming tag title match from being an assured lock for MOTN come Dallas is the fact that that card is more loaded than Johnny Manziel's bloodstream.

Because in addition to Zayn/Nakamura, and the Finn Bálor/Samoa Joe rematch for the Big X, and the tag title match, AND Austin Aries (here in a quick promo to position him as the plucky undersized against the oversized jerk that went well) making his own NXT debut against the sneaky good Baron Corbin, well, you can't have an NXT Takeover without a World Women's Championship match that could be the match of the night in its own right.

Of course, it may have a pall cast over it by the end if Asuka kicks Bayley to death. And should that happen, we will all really, really miss Bayley. Corey Graves went from exuberant to horrified as he came to realize that with Miss Most Dangerous dans la maison that the odds of his girl Eva Marie getting turned from a solid into a vapor even with Nia Jax for backup just went blessed-level way way up, then made sure after he compared the Red Menance to a baby deer and Asuka to a crocodile lunging out of the water to snap her neck while she grazed in a fine Wild Kingdom analogy that he walked the comment back just in case she misunderstood and thought he was actually calling her a crocodile--freely admitting he was terrified of her. Compare that to Alex Riley right before Sasha Banks had to snatch his edges on that pregame, or not: that man's existence just gives further support to the agnostics and atheists of the world (represent represent).

Also a "bumped" match from last week's show, the crux of the match seemed to hinge on given Asuka's--well, Asukaness and Bayley's much gentler disposition, could they get along as a team to overcome a more established unit? Well, Eva got too cocky once Jax floored Bay and got herself in, then Bay outclassed her and brought in Asuka. Eva tried to run, but the gaijin cut her off, and then she was the next contestant on Catch A Beatdown. Jax would blind tag in and give the Power Alliance a quick reprieve, but Eva got in over her head again and this time when Nia tried to save her bacon she missed and legdropped her instead. Bayley sent her scurrying, Asuka added injury to injury from the apron with a Crocopesque shot, and that put her in perfect position to fall victim to the Bayley-to-belly.

Then Regal came back out and after some lavish compliments for both ladies made the match. You can tell he's an impartial GM now because he's more than willing to sentence somebody he likes to Death By Asuka like that. Then it happened: Asuka turned to face Bayley and flashed her ™ horrifying smile, the champ looked frightened while being determined (maybe the inverse) and in an echo of a great moment from Airplane!, Corey Graves borderline deadpanned "You ever see the Ring, Tom?" That is what it feels like: first you see the smile, then you see the grave. Bayley's literally overcome a litany of pretty much every major name in the history of the division, a rookie land monster who almost squashed her like a bug, and even fighting her BFF without either of them giving in to the temptation of donning the black hat. But this force of nature with the flowing cape and the sabre-pointed kicks may be something that not even the best World Women's Champion to date can overcome.

It'll be fun as hell to see if she can, though, assuming she survives.

Hell, Takeover: Dallas looks to be so much fun it's a wonder any of us will survive it. Forget a WrestleMania watch party; the Friday before the crown jewel might shine so bright Scott Kelly would've been able to see it from space.

The high flying Angélico leads off today's list Photo via Lucha Underground Facebook

The first week of slow release for the TWB 100 ends with the list getting to 75 percent completion. Everyone but the top 25 will be revealed after today, so why not take a dive and get swimmin' towards the goal, alright?

50. Angélico
Points: 1817
Ballots: 32
Highest Vote: 10th Place (Chris McGibbons, Nick Ahlhelm)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: No one was as reckless with his or her body in wrestling in 2015 as Angélico was. Most people will remember his big dive off Dario Cueto's roof onto the Crew in the Trios Championship finals, and that was an epic, memorable, moment-of-the-year caliber spot. But he was so much more than just that big dive. He was a fearless bumper, and he knew how to weave high spots together into something that resembled a wrestling match rather than a stunt show. Angélico made a huge splash in Lucha Underground and American wrestling altogether last year, and everyone was better for it.

Bill Bicknell: There's a feeling I talk about in wrestling that I jokingly call DAD FEELS in which I become overwhelmingly concerned for a wrestler's safety and well-being. Angélico gave me more of those than any other wrestler this year. He's so much fun to watch but PLEASE DON'T HURT YOURSELF.

Stygimoloch: Some have dismissed Angélico as simply "the guy who dives off Dario Cueto's office", but that does a disservice to his fluidity and nuance as a performer. His tag team work with Jack Evans has been mind-blowing at times, while as the quietly cocky slacker counterpart to the dynamic pairing of Ivelisse and Son of Havoc, he brought a subtle richness to one of Lucha Underground's key storylines.

David Murphy: I know he had other matches and I know they were stellar, but for me Angelico will be forever linked to that magical bit of storytelling that was the trios tourney finals. Sure, people are going to remember "the dive", but that sparkling moment is just a stuntman spot immortalized in Vines and .gifs without the brilliant story that was told beforehand. With it, it is the desperation plunge of a nearly broken man. Also, it's super rad and should be immortalized in .gifs and Vines forever.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

49. Adam Cole (BAYBAY)
Points: 1825
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote:1st Place (Hayley Erin)
Last Year's Placement: 34th Place

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

48. Timothy Thatcher
Points: 1831
Ballots: 25
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Francis Adu, Kris Zellner, Tanner Teat)
Last Year's Placement: 69th Place (nice)

Joey on Earth: I will admit I went into Timothy Thatcher’s EVOLVE push not wanting to like him. Thatcher reminded me of the boring Drew Gulak on the superficial surface but he turned out to be truly great. The whole catch point/grapplefuck wrestling style is hit or miss to me. Some bores me to tears and others captivate me. Thatcher captivates me and has improved with every performance to become one of the best independent wrestling stars today.

Stygimoloch: A great example of how characterful doesn't have to mean flashy, Timothy Thatcher doesn't necessarily stray from his grounded mat style very often even since his anointing as the face of Evolve, but he makes every big match feel like an event with his intensity and aggression, and his ability to invest a low-key humanity into the subtlest of facial tics or muscle twitches.

Photo via Lucha Underground Facebook

47. Johnny Mundo
Points: 1900
Ballots: 30
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Joey on Earth)
Last Year's Placement: 68th Place

TH: It's amazing how much better Mundo was in the confines of LU than he was in WWE. A lot of the sizzle remained, but his LU working patterns were a lot tighter and focused. He wasn't just THE PARKOUR GUY anymore, but a dude who could put together matches with opponents who were probably more his speed than they were in WWE (no knock on either company, to be honest, just stylistic differences). He got even better after his big rudo turn, adding a vicious streak to his big spots which enhanced his matches even more.

Bill Bicknell: One of the real surprises of the year for me was watching the erstwhile John Morrison finally figure it out. He's always been okay to good, but when he turned rudo in Lucha Underground, all the tumblers seemed to click into place. "All Night Long" was his coming out party, where his parkour shenanigans finally made sense for his character and produced one of the best matches in one of the best years of wrestling that I can remember.

Sean Williams: John Morrison was a great professional wrestler with a meh character. Johnny Mundo is a great professional wrestler with a great character, that plays into and feeds into his ring work. He's one of the highlights of Lucha Underground, and was a joy to watch against competitors such as Prince Puma and Alberto el Patron. He's also a gigantic dick in the ring, and I mean that in the best of ways.

Joey on Earth: I’ll be honest. I think Johnny Mundo is kind of a lame ass goof but he was an unbelievable wrestler in 2015. Lucha Underground had a spectacular first season and Mundo was definitely the MVP of the show. They put him against an array of opponents with various styles in many odd gimmick matches and he hit a home run just about every time. Best year of his career.

Stygimoloch: The self-proclaimed ace of Lucha Underground was involved in more of the promotion's best matches in 2015 than almost anyone else; for my money, his ironman bout against Prince Puma is second only to Grave Consequences as LU's best match to date, and if not for Banks/Bayley would have stood as the finest ironman in years. His season-long heel turn may not have been as attention-grabbing as the Fénix/Mil feud or the struggles of the Trios Champions - at least until he threw Alberto through that window - but it was just as compelling, and the archetypal example of the kind of slow burning, character-driven story that makes Lucha Underground so enthralling.

Joshua Browns: I still think there are times when he looks more like he’s dancing than he does like he’s wrestling, but it’s hard to argue that 2015 wasn’t the best year of Johnny’s career. He found a level of viciousness in his heel work with Alberto Del Rio that finally made it look like he really meant what he was doing in the ring, and that’s what needs to continue to be developed – vicious scumbag is a far better persona than “benignly cocky and very talented doormat”.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

46. Drew Galloway
Points: 1904
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Rich Fann II)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Joey on Earth: Drew Galloway is quietly one of the best wrestlers in the world. Everyone is aware he’s good but I don’t think most realize just how great he has been since leaving WWE. Galloway had arguably the best PWG match of the year against Mike Bailey and was one of the more entertaining performers in EVOLVE all year. Ben Turpen recently pointed out that Galloway is younger than Roman Reigns and it blew my mind. Galloway is a top five-to-ten performer in the world and he’s just getting better.

Stygimoloch: Perhaps nobody has benefited more from a change of scenery over the last couple of years than Drew Galloway. Whether in TNA, EVOLVE, or any one of the seemingly hundreds of other promotions he popped up in in 2015, he wrestled like a man possessed, bringing intensity and ambition to even the most throwaway of matches.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

45. (Princess) Kimber Lee
Points: 1968
Ballots: 27
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Bill Bicknell)
Last Year's Placement: 44th Place

TH: She's a wrestler! The poster child for intergender wrestling on the indies started out the year controversially in Beyond Wrestling, but as most TWB 100-worthy competitors do, she showed she was more than just an unprotected chair shot and big bump. Her work especially in Chikara was classic babyface stuff. To wit, she spent an entire year building up to being able to suplex Max Smashmaster, which is brilliant, brilliant psychology.

Bill Bicknell: I could talk for days about how important Kimber Lee is as the first woman to hold a top title in a mixed-gender promotion, how much the Rolling Stone article meant, all of that. What's most important to me is that it couldn't have been just anyone; she rose to fill that role this year. Honestly, I didn't see it coming, but she's spent all year redefining the relationship between wrestler and crowd. When I attended CHIKARA's Exit Strategy in Columbus, my youngest daughter Suzie was lucky enough to be her "crown protector" for her match with Jakob Hammermeier, and it's a good thing the camera wasn't on me because tears were almost shooting out of my eyes. Suzie was brought into the ring to dance with her after her match, and one hug later, I knew she'd be a fan for a long time. Wrestling can often make us feel so cynical and stupid, especially about gender, but seeing a little girl light up like that matters so much. Kimber Lee matters so much. I'm going to start crying again if I write any more.

David Kincannon: The first female Grand Champion of Chikara. I don’t think I need to say a whole lot more...but I will. She is the epitome of tough, and can go toe to toe with the biggest and baddest of them all. Her win against Hallowicked at Top Banana is my favorite single moment of 2015.

Frank McCormick: Being the first woman to be a grand champion for a major indie is an astonishing achievement, well deserved by wrestling's own pink and/or purple-haired Princess. Guts, grit, gumption, and grappling got her there, and hopefully it keeps here there for a long reign.

Stygimoloch: Although she was already a solid enough hand this time last year, Kimber Lee improved massively over the course of 2015 to the point where her closing out the year as Chikara Grand Champion despite still being a relative rookie feels entirely earned. She delivered hard on one of the key narrative throughlines to Challenge of the Immortals, and The Kimber Bombs have come into their own as a premier tag team in 2015.

Joshua Browns: I give some extra weight when somebody’s in a match where the finish really “pops” me, and Kim winning the Chikara Grand Championship this year was the top moment like that for me. She just keeps getting better – and she’s so damn tough.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

44. Uhaa Nation/Apollo Crews
Points: 2072
Ballots: 38
Highest Vote: 14th Place (Henry Casey)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Stygimoloch: It says a lot that despite being saddled with a rather one-dimensional, whitebread character and never quite fully clicking in the ring yet, Apollo Crews' matches in NXT have still tended towards being pretty damn good. The true brilliance of Uhaa Nation may not yet have been unleashed on Full Sail, but he's still acquitted himself well in the time he's been there

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

43. Kyle O'Reilly
Points: 2113
Ballots: 30
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Cam Is Like)
Last Year's Placement: 26th Place

TH: O'Reilly hasn't been my cup of tea until this year. In fact, it was his match vs. Tetsuya Naito at War of the Worlds that made me get him. He's found a way to combine his faux-MMA sensibilities with a better feel for pacing and a sense of humor, which is big in my book.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

42. Sheamus
Points: 2131
Ballots: 36
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Mike Pankowski)
Last Year's Placement: 32nd Place

TH: Poor Sheamus is perhaps the most egregious victim of shoddy WWE booking in the last five years total, but he still puts in his hours in the ring. He owned his new "bully" persona and it led to maybe the only good matches Dolph Ziggler had all year post-Mania and contests that actually got Roman Reigns cheered. Okay, maybe that last part's unfair due to booking and all, but hey, those matches on RAW and at TLC were real bangers. Even if his stories were groan-inducing, Sheamus never lacked for effort in the ring, and that's the part that counts.

Frank McCormick: Sheamus might be Exhibit A in "shit character, great wrestler." He's totally irrelevant, no matter how many pushes he gets, because no one can stand "him." But in the actual ring? He's a BEAST. I've often theorized that he must have S&M tendencies, because no one seems to actually enjoy being beaten as much as he does, his milk-white skin the perfect canvas for impressive bruises.

Stygimoloch: It's tough to argue that someone who won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (and along the way became only the second man in history to win each of WWE's three signature non-title accolades) had a bad year. But it's equally tough to deny that the Sheamus of 2015 was not the same man who tore it up with the likes of Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton in such hard-hitting matches a few short years ago. Still, a new look and a heel turn revitalised him somewhat, and although his third WWE Championship reign ultimately came off as nothing but him getting punked out by Roman Reigns at every turn, he certainly put on some fine performances over the course of the year.

Scott Holland: Sheamus should not be overlooked as one of the few people WWE could run against Roman Reigns and get the desired outcome. His championship reign had a legitimacy often lacking in transitional titleholders because the guy can absolutely hold his own against anyone in the company. Oddly, like his inverse, Kalisto, his 2016 prospects depend solely on opponents and opportunities. I could see him landing in the top 10 or the bottom.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

41. Roderick Strong
Points: 2170
Ballots: 31
Highest Vote:1st Place (Greg Johnson)
Last Year's Placement: 64th Place

TH: Strong's transformation from boring bastion of excess to "PWG Roddy all the time" in Ring of Honor continued in 2015. Despite some missteps (like the Tanahashi match), he pretty much showed why he's considered one of the premiere workers on the indie scene, especially in PWG.

Photo via Lucha Underground Facebook

40. Mil Muertes
Points: 2176
Ballots: 31
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Scott Raychel)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: Muertes was the ultimate feast-or-famine worker in LU last year, but his highs were dizzying. One cannot put all the credit for GRAVE CONSEQUENCES or the Death Match at the feet of Fénix. Muertes was great at projecting fear and terror, as well as slowly breaking his character during the matches to help put over his opponent.

Bill Bicknell:"Oh yeah sure they've got Judas Mesias playing a masked e-fed character," Bill said, making dismissive jackoff motions. Oh, how naive I was. GRAVE CONSEQUENCES alone would've been enough, but Mil Muertes rose from the rubble to become one of the most terrifying Big Bads in wrestling today. I still get chills.

Scott Raychel: My most fantasy booked wrestler of 2015 was absolutely Mil Muertes. I just need to see him having ultimate hoss battles with anyone his size. He has an intimidating presence in the ring matched only by Brock Lesnar, and he’s an incredible performer to boot. His Lucha Underground matches with Prince Puma and Fenix, especially Grave Consequences, were some of the best matches of 2015.

Stygimoloch: Even for someone as successful and well-tenured as El Mesías, the Mil Muertes character may be a career high. Of course he had that stunning feud with Fénix including a serious contender for match of the year, anywhere in the world, in Grave Consequences, but perhaps more importantly he managed to infuse what could so easily have been a generic dominant monster gimmick with enough conflict and vulnerability to make his ascension to the throne of Lucha Underground a thrilling rollercoaster rather than a foregone conclusion.

Joshua Browns: Man, that’s a great character, and it’s beautifully played. He’s a classic “less is more” big man in a promotion full of tiny flippy dudes who can bounce off of him and die, and can do just enough wicked-looking shit on offense that he looks like a killer.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

39. Jay Lethal
Points: 2182
Ballots: 33
Highest Vote: 4th Place (Nick Malone)
Last Year's Placement: 70th Place

Sean Williams: I didn't watch a lot of ROH in 2015, but when I did, I was constantly impressed by Jay Lethal, World Champion. He's a guy that I never, ever thought could carry a company, and who did a tremendous job of doing just that with better than ever ringwork and a general attitude in the ring that he was the man. That confidence made him a must see performer for me.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

38. Baron Corbin
Points: 2235
Ballots: 39
Highest Vote: 8th Place (Andrew Smith)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

Jamie Girouard: Corbin is the most improved wrestler in NXT by a mile, as he's figured out how to play his role. From Takeover: Brooklyn through the end of the year, you could argue he was one of the top-five wrestlers in the brand.

Sean Williams: The WWE Performance Center doesn't really exist for the Sami Zayns and Kevin Owens of the world. It exists to take guys like Corbin, new to the wrestling world but laden with potential, to the next level in their new profession. Once Corbin found his natural fit as a heel bitter at the internet darlings of the world, everything clicked. He's an excellent bully, much better than he ever was as Goldberg Jr. And while it's not hard to have good matches against the likes of Samoa Joe and Apollo Crews, Baron's holding up his end. He could be very, very good in the very near future

Stygimoloch: No lie, Baron Corbin telling Apollo Crews he should have stayed in Ring of Honor was my favourite line on any wrestling show in 2015. That is some A1 trolling game. Corbin still isn't always the most motivated wrestler, and his talking segments can seem stilted - but when he's on, he's pitch perfect as NXT's super-deformed, bizarro world parody of Roman Reigns. Working with Rhyno and Samoa Joe has done absolute wonders for him.

Brandon Rohwer: Corbin is a capital example of a wrestler who just needs the right direction to have a fire lit under his ass. His first few matches as the undefeated lone wolf were fun at first, but by the time we got to his Bull Dempsey feud you could hear eyes glazing over. Only after he set out on his “I’m a REAL athlete” crusade against NXT’s indie circuit signees did he fully back up his uber-tough persona with hard hitting in-ring work, peaking with a stellar match against Samoa Joe at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.

David Murphy: I don't know that anyone understands being a pro-wrestler more than Baron Corbin. He improves with each match, sure, but the way he carries himself, the way he behaves, when the red light is on is someone who is in tune with who he is supposed to be. Also, Corbin's resume, in ring, is much stronger than people realize. His match against Samoa Joe would've been the talk of Brooklyn under different circumstances and the match with He and Rhyno versus American Alpha is criminally under-appreciated at this point. I fear he'll be ignored and treated unfairly by the multitudes of fans who think he's just some football player and not an indy sensation, but Terry Funk was just some football player. Ernie Ladd was just some football player. Wahoo, Dusty, Austin, everyone of them were just some football player. Baron Corbin is pro-wrestling.

Bill DiFilippo: Baron Corbin used to be so insanely lame in every way, shape and form. But then someone realized that he is, like, the perfect heel – a relatively great athlete, a natural asshole, and someone who seems like they can kick the ass of anyone.

Joshua Browns: I’m as surprised as anybody. Until the middle of the year, Corbin looked like his ceiling was a too-soon call-up to the main roster followed by a quick crash. He’s everything you’d expect in a stereotypical WWE developmental bust – a 6’5”+ tattooed former pro athlete who kickstarted his career with a string of mediocre squash matches, but starting with his feud with Rhyno, the guy has shown a slow and steady progression towards having the potential to be something really special. He looks more comfortable in the ring with each match, and he’s gotten the End of Days over as a great finish.

Photo Credit: Mikey Nolan

37. Zack Sabre, Jr.
Points: 2291
Ballots: 28
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Kris Zellner)
Last Year's Placement: 96th Place

TH: I can't wait to immerse myself more into Sabre and his brand of grappling goodness. He's one guy I wished I saw more of in 2015, but what I was able to absorb was the goods. He makes exchanges and counters look so easy.

David Kincannon: Zack Sabre, Jr. is another of the best wrestlers in the world. He knocked it out of the park in PWG this year, and I hope we get more of him in the US in 2016.

Brandon House: I used to not be into Zack Sabre Jr. that much. Then I saw him kick Roderick Strong in the face. Now, I like him a lot.

Joey on Earth: The basis of which I did my rankings for this lowered Zack Sabre Jr. from the #1 spot due to a few of his gems taking place outside North America but he ended up finishing quite high for his PWG and EVOLVE work. Sabre is just money right now and may actually be the coveted “best wrestler in the world” that everyone claims their favorite is. The body of work put out by Sabre is very reminiscent to when Bryan Danielson was dominating the independent wrestling scene. Unbelievable matches against Roderick Strong and Chris Hero makes Sabre a top tier wrestler of 2015.

Stygimoloch: As far as in-ring technique goes, "innovation" often gets particularly associated with high flying, but Zack Sabre Jr proves match after match that there's still plenty of space to explore in more traditional areas too with his updated hybrid of strong style and World of Sport. His character work really grew in 2015, seeing him get a lot more confident in his loveable arsehole persona.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

36. Tyler Breeze
Points: 2335
Ballots: 38
Highest Vote: 9th Place (Rich Thomas)
Last Year's Placement: 22nd Place

TH: Breeze had one of the most satisfying in-ring series of the first half of the year with Hideo Itami, and then he got to play with Old Man Liger at Takeover: Brooklyn. He was an honorary puroresu junior heavyweight for the year, and he did quite a bit of heavy lifting himself in those matches. Overall, Breeze's year was satisfying to say the least, even if he got forgotten by the RAW roster creative team by the end of the year.

Rich Thomas: Before this year I didn’t like Tyler Breeze. He felt like a low rent version of a character we’ve seen before. This year Tyler Breeze had matches with people who got the best out of his. His feud with Hideo Itami showed a different side of him. He shows anger and temper in the ring that plays so well with his cool model persona.

Jamie Girouard: Criminally underused since coming to the main roster, Breeze made his mark in NXT by having good-to-great matches with everyone he was asked to compete against. The fact he was that good while saddled with an opening match gimmick is even more remarkable.

Joey O.: Look everyone, it's Tyler! Well, on RAW I wish you could look at Tyler right now. While his Main Roster fate might end up being what many feared, his run of great NXT matches continued for much of 2015. Few truly inhabit their characters inside and out of the ring better than Breeze. Plus he will likely go down in the history books as the only WWE superstar to ever face Jushin "Thunder" Liger in a WWE ring and no one can ever delete that selfie from his phone.

Brandon House: Rock solid and destined to be underrated by wrestling fans forever.

Stygimoloch: Even while treading water, as he did for significant stretches of the year, Tyler Breeze continued to integrate his gimmick into his ring work in ever more characterful and interesting ways. His special exhibition match against Jushin Liger may be the most purely fun match any mainstream promotion held in 2015.

Scott Holland: What’s the Zayniac/Jerichoholic equivalent for Tyler Breeze devotees? I don’t have any sort of scale when I vote on these things, but a perfectly named finisher, routinely executed flawlessly, and matching the character and his ring style probably would be worth quite a few points on its own. Unfortunately for those influenced by recency bias the main roster opportunities paled in comparison to what Breeze did in his final NXT stretch, because this dude deserves plenty of attention for his contributions.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

35. Dalton Castle/Ashley Remington
Points: 2441
Ballots: 37
Highest Vote:1st Place (Courtney Rose)
Last Year's Placement: 51st Place

TH: The fact that the man behind both characters was able to work in two completely different styles with two completely different sets of signature spots, ring styles, and even paces. I don't care what your criteria are for the list, that's damn impressive.

Bill Bicknell: Did anybody have a better breakout year in 2015 than Dalton Castle? The guy went from an interesting indie novelty to one of the best acts in the world in no time flat. And he's so handsome, my stars.

David Kincannon: One of the saving graces for ROH for me in 2015. His work in Chikara will always be appreciated, but the ROH version Dalton Castle may be my favorite in ring character of the year.

Stygimoloch: How good is Dalton Castle? Dalton Castle is this good: he can make Ring of Honor almost tolerable. Whether cutting through RoH's MRA bullshit as The Party Peacock or handing out fruit baskets and finger guns as Smooth Sailin', his charisma and stage presence are off the scale, as is his fantastic timing as both an athlete and a comedian. He's such a special performer, who's so, so good in every aspect of the craft, that it feels utterly criminal that he isn't more widely known.

Joshua Browns: I haven’t actually seen Dalton Castle wrestle yet, but I saw Remington’s spectacular match with Drew Gulak in February at National Pro Wrestling Day, and a solid matchup with Hallowicked at Aniversario in May. The Dalton Castle gimmick has taken off massively, but it’s telling that Castle seems to be getting as much notice for his ring work as he does for his entrances.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

34. Drew Gulak
Points: 2481
Ballots: 36
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Kenn Haspel)
Last Year's Placement: 27th Place

TH: Gulak wore a lot of hats in several different promotions, but he wore them all well. My favorite turn of his was as the "serious" member of the Gentleman's Club, where he still got to do his #grapplefuck thing but also got to show a different side of him, one that played well with Chikara's comedy-friendly atmosphere. Versatility is huge.

David Kincannon: It’s easy to lump Gulak any with all the other technical wrestlers, because he’s one of the best. But that’s not all he’s good at. His work as The Gentleman’s Club’s straight man shows he’s not just a one trick pony.

Brandon House: Watching guys go hold for hold isn't everyone's cup of tea, but Drew Gulak is one of the guys who do the style right. Fun fact: I walked by Drew Gulak three times at King of Trios before I recognized him.

Stygimoloch: Funnily enough, for someone frequently criticised as lacking personality, Drew Gulak's biggest strength in a relatively cool 2015 was his versatility of character. From hamming it up with his brother in CZW, to playing the swaggering straight(ish) man in Chikara's Gentlemen's Club, to pure GRAPPLEFUCKERY in EVOLVE, he threw himself into whatever role he adopted with relish.

Joshua Browns: I really enjoyed Gulak whenever I got to see him this year. He’s quite simply a spectacular technical wrestler. The match he and Ashley Remington had at NPWD was probably the best bell-to-bell singles match I saw live all year, and he even somehow fits into a mostly comedy outfit when he works with the Gentleman’s Club. I’m a little stunned he’s not in Florida yet.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

33. Daniel Bryan
Points: 2606
Ballots: 38
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Brock Lutefisk)
Last Year's Placement: 4th Place

TH: Last year, Bryan looked like he was going to go back to his old self, but then another injury took him out, one that would ultimately end his career. Yet, in the couple of months he got as a coda, he put on several different standout performances against varied opponents in different styles. Whether it was the car-crash spot-heavy run in the WrestleMania Intercontinental Championship match, the classic WWE main event bout against Roman Reigns at Fast Lane, or the grappling heavy Bryan special everyone has come to love against Dolph Ziggler on RAW, Bryan got to have a quality sendoff, even if the fans at large, including myself, especially myself were not ready to let him go. Bryan finished number one three times on the TWB 100; no one else finished at the top spot more than once, and for good reason. Bryan Danielson is probably the best wrestler to step between the ropes in the last 15 years, arguments against it be damned. Wrestling lost one of its all-time great performers, but at least he left behind a legacy worth treasuring.

David Kincannon: The last time Daniel Bryan will be on this list. A damn shame. He will go down as one of the best in ring competitors ever.

Stygimoloch: Sure, Daniel Bryan may have only wrestled about one and a half matches after his return before going straight back onto the injured list... but c'MON. It's Daniel Bryan. He could've hit one single move all year and still made the list, because he'd have executed that move so damn well, both athletically and emotionally. With his retirement, wrestling has lost undoubtedly one of the finest performers of this generation.

Scott Holland: I will absolutely confess to ranking Daniel Bryan highly on my ballot despite his 2015 consisting almost entirely of the Roman Reigns Fastlane match and WrestleMania 31 Intercontinental title victory, but there is zero shame in that decision. Even with his nagging injuries, by 2015 there wasn’t a fan in the world who expected anything less than Bryan’s best from bell to bell — and Bryan’s best is as good as anyone who ever tried.

Joshua Browns: Yes, I know he only wrestled a tiny handful of matches in 2015 before getting injured and eventually breaking everyone’s spirits. I wouldn’t care if his only match of 2015 had been a 45-second distraction rollup loss to Yoshihiko. He’s Daniel Motherfucking Bryan. He’s going in my top 20. Godspeed, Dragon. Never wrestle again, have lots of adorable babies, run an organic grocery co-op in Seattle and come back every once in a while so we can all chant “YES” and cry.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

32. Nikki Bella
Points: 2670
Ballots: 41
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Hayley Erin)
Last Year's Placement: 37th Place

TH: I thought the whole "Super Worker Nikki Bella" thing was going to be a gag based off an anomalous performance late in 2013, but she kept building and building upon it until this past year, when she pretty much was the only woman on the RAW roster having consistently great matches on a regular basis. Singles matches? You got it. Multi-wrestler matches? No sweat. Tag matches? Bad layouts couldn't hold back Bella. She maybe had one bad performance (against Sasha Banks, no less!) where it looked like she didn't really give a shit, but looking back, it was one match out of dozens and dozens. The match she had before WrestleMania against Paige was perhaps the best non-NXT women's match of the year, and if it happened at, say, a Takeover event, more people would have been talking about it. She throws a snug, brutal-looking forearm. She knows how to put spots together. And hopefully she'll come back from her injury in 2016 and continue to show that just because a woman was recruited by John Laurinaitis' wolf-eyed tendencies doesn't mean she can't be excellent in the ring.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

31. Charlotte
Points: 2701
Ballots: 44
Highest Vote: 4th Place (Jesse Dlugosz)
Last Year's Placement: 9th Place

TH: Charlotte's veneer kinda fell off in 2015 after moving from NXT, but she still had enough first-half performances that warrant a slot on my ballot. She worked hard even on house shows, referenced by her instant classic vs. Sasha Banks in Philadelphia. And honestly, while she wasn't top-10 great on RAW, she wasn't terrible either.

Brandon House: I thought Charlotte had the most potential of all the women from NXT (I thought she was "Brock Lesnar-esque") and was worried about her on the main roster, especially when she struggled at first. She's since hit her stride and should have a big year in 2016.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

30. Emma
Points: 2768
Ballots: 44
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Angelo Castillo)
Last Year's Placement: Not Ranked

TH: Moving back to NXT was a godsend for Emma. She was able to spread her wings and remind everyone how great she could be. Adding a nasty meanstreak to her repertoire did wonders for her as well. She was a great, if temporary, foil for Bayley, and she was the perfect first-time Takeover opponent for Asuka.

Brian Brown: 2015 was the year we met Evil Emma. The dancing Australian started her year by turning on then-friend Bayley and aligning herself with newcomer Dana Brooke. She picked up her biggest win of the year at the TV tapings at NXT Brooklyn by defeating Brooke, Charlotte and Becky Lynch in a Fatal 4 Way. She ended her year with an amazing performance in a losing effort against Asuka to open the Takeover London event in December. Her stock definitely rose in 2015 and with the addition of those swank aviators (which she purchased), her 2016 looks even brighter. Plus check out her cooking show on YouTube!

Bill Bicknell: Dancing Emma is dead; long live Evil Emma, the new face of terror in NXT. Watching her transform from one of the saddest wrestlers into the company into the face of wrestling bitterness has been a delight. Emma was taken for granted after a terrible transition to the "main roster," so I'm glad she's doing better for herself now.

Scott Holland: I could write about Emma a lot of the things I wrote about Paige, as I hope neither gets lost in the Charlotte-Bayley-Becky Lynch-Sasha Banks shuffle. Her vicious wrestling wonderfully matches her character’s mean streak, and WWE needs legitimate villains if its fans are going to invest in the new female heroes.

Brandon Rohwer: It sounds cliché when we say somebody is better as a heel, but taking on the Evil Emma character has given her an extra edge to her in-ring style, making her one of the must-watch stars of the increasingly competitive NXT Women’s Division.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

29. Chris Hero
Points: 2758
Ballots: 37
Highest Vote:1st Place (Matthew Hollinger, Joey On Earth, Christopher Zinn)
Last Year's Placement: 53rd Place

TH: Hero seems to be building a legend for himself on his post-NXT indies run, referenced by his three number one votes. I didn't get a chance to see a whole lot of him, but what I did get to catch was good enough to warrant a vote. He brings not only great grappling chops but veteran savvy to a scene that doesn't always have it due to early retirements or WWE/TNA poachings.

Joey on Earth: I voted Chris Hero #1 in my ballot because he was the most impressive in-ring performer of 2015. The thought process behind ranking the talent on my list was more difficult than I expected. Once I factored out storylines, promos, gimmicks and other non-in-ring aspects, I realized Hero was my favorite wrestler of the year with an array of outstanding matches. Hero had standout performances against Zack Sabre Jr., Mike Bailey, Trevor Lee and Timothy Thatcher in both PWG and EVOLVE. I would put three or four Hero matches in my top five favorite independent wrestling matches of 2015. The career of Chris Hero is regarded as one of the best in indie wrestling history but I would go as far to say 2015 was the best year yet for The Knockout Artist.

Stygimoloch: Chris Hero has settled into the role of the American indies' elder statesman so naturally that it's hard to remember a time when he wasn't. From his groundbreaking three-hour charity gauntlet in SMASH to being treated like a LEGIT MURDER GOD whenever he showed up in one of his old stomping grounds like EVOLVE or IWA-MS, Hero's adept at looking like an absolute beast while still being more than willing to put over upcoming talent.

Joshua Browns: Now that we’ve established that a chunky dude wearing a t-shirt can, in fact, be a big-time player in the WWE, can we buy Chris Hero a t-shirt and give him back his WWE contract? Please? Just throw me a bone and give me back the Kings of Wrestling, motherfuckers.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

28. Nick Jackson
Points: 2875
Ballots: 41
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Bob Godfrey)
Last Year's Placement: 17th Place

TH: See my blurb for Matt Jackson, I can't separate the Young Bucks.

Brandon House: But seriously, in some matches the Young Bucks could make you absolutely hate them, and in others make you want to do nothing more than buy every single one of their many, many t-shirts. They can leave you holding your sides in hysterical laughter and they can make you take them deadly seriously. That requires skill, skill the Young Bucks have in abundance.

Joey on Earth: The Young Bucks are always a great time. Fun matches. Superkicks. Meltzer Drivers. Nick is the Indytaker and I will never cross him.

Photo Credit: WWE.com

27. Kalisto
Points: 2878
Ballots: 47
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Brandon Rohwer)
Last Year's Placement: 67th Place

TH: Kalisto had a few bumps in 2015, but he showed that he could not only replace Rey Mysterio as the resident lucha on WWE TV, he showed signs of one day surpassing him. His match construction is getting to a high level, and his big spots are just jaw dropping. Hopefully, he gets more of a singles run in 2016, because Sin Cara was really holding him back last year.

Scott Holland: Kalisto is so much more than his “spot of the year” from TLC. But damn if that alone isn’t worthy of high, high praise. Dude is primed for a major 2016 if he gets the right opponents and opportunities.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

26. Matt Jackson
Points: 2890
Ballots: 41
Highest Vote: 4th Place (Bob Godfrey)
Last Year's Placement: 16th Place

TH: The Young Bucks are the best tag team since the Steiner Brothers. I repeat. They are the best tag team to be on the scene in 20 years. Do they "disrespect" tradition? Sure, but not all traditions need to be respected. They sold for a little kid. Who the fuck cares? The Meltzer Driver is a fantastic high spot. They spam superkicks? At least 99 percent of them are timely, crisp, and fit into their match narrative. They have a match template that they have pretty much perfected and yet every time they're in the ring, it feels fresh. They work well with any team, whether big or small. They're a hoot to watch live, and they translate well on television. They're one of the few acts that actually isn't hurt by matches going overlong. Trust me, I witnessed two big set-piece matches featuring the Bucks live, and both of them (King of Trios final, WOTW N2 main event) went longer than average. I still enjoyed the hell out of both of them. I hate that wrestlers become battlegrounds for deeply personal debate rather than wrestlers, especially when they're as important as the Brothers Jackson. They're already appreciated right now, but they may not be fully appreciated until after they retire, and that will be too goddamn late.

Brandon House: It's easy to look at the Young Bucks and think they're nothing but crotch chops, Too Sweets, and t-shirts, but then you'd be overlooking how good at their jobs they are. Last year, they wrestled pretty much everywhere, and they were great everywhere. What makes Matt Jackson better than his brother? The sweet sideburns.

Joey on Earth: The Young Bucks are always a great time. Fun matches. Superkicks. Meltzer Drivers. Matt is my favorite Young Buck.

Stygimoloch: While I enjoy The Young Bucks, they're far from my personal favourites - but I have the feeling that in years to come, they'll be remembered as being among the most influential wrestlers of their generation. Love them or hate them, the Bucks are years ahead of the game and in their own particular way a taste of the future of wrestling. I think my favourite thing about The Young Bucks is the fact that so many fans truly despise them, and not just the characters but the performers behind them. Which may sound like a dick thing to say, but it's not schadenfreude, I swear. Like Mike Quackenbush or Sanshiro Takagi, they're exploring wrestling as a subversive, postmodern art. It just happens that in their case, it's through the lens of working the fans.

Joshua Browns: Yeah, I’m cheating and putting the Bucks back-to-back so I can talk about them as a unit, big whoop, wanna fight about it? I still have an incredibly difficult time figuring out what’s so “divisive” about the Young Bucks. “You either love them or you hate them” is probably the phrase used most often to describe how people feel about these guys, and I just don’t get it. I’ve never understood people who complain when a wrestler uses a move that another guy used as a finisher as a transitional move. It’s not “cheapening” the move for the older wrestler – nobody thinks any less of Jake Roberts’ DDT or Sweet Chin Music because the DDT doesn’t necessarily end matches anymore, or because the Bucks spam a bunch of superkicks in every match. In fact, you could (and I will) argue that that enhances the mystique of the other wrestler’s move – sure, everybody uses a DDT, but only Jake could throw one like that. So if you take that complaint out of the equation, what the hell is there NOT to like about these guys? They’re genuinely charismatic and funny without nearly any dedicated promo time, their selling (while admittedly a bit over-the-top sometimes) is consistent with the characters they play, and the Meltzer Driver is one of the coolest tag finishes ever. Top 20 EASY, and they’d probably be top 10 if they weren’t in Japan so damn much. Suck it, Cornette.

Monday, the final bulk release will be announced. Then, it's all single entries for the top five, baybay.

Could this match be good? Of course, but how Photo Credit: WWE.com

It's Twitter Request Line time, everyone! I take to Twitter to get questions about issues in wrestling, past and present, and answer them on here because 140 characters can't restrain me, fool! If you don't know already, follow me @tholzerman, and wait for the call on Wednesday to ask your questions. Hash-tag your questions #TweetBag, and look for the bag to drop Thursday afternoon (most of the time). Without further ado, here are your questions and my answers!

@tholzerman So, is there any way the Shane/Taker match could be... good?

— The Enrico Palazzo (@Enrico_Palazzo_) March 16, 2016

Almost any match can be good. Shane McMahon and the Undertaker may be up against a lot of factors. Undertaker is old, and McMahon hasn't been in a ring in what, seven years now? But McMahon makes Angelico look inhibited when it comes to big bumps, and Taker flourished in some of those gonzo, no-rules, schlockfests he was involved in with Brock Lesnar between SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell. I think if they go in without any pretenses of it being a wrestling match and work it as a street fight inside the Cell, add in some crazy bumps, and sprinkle in some timely interference (Mean Street Posse!), then it could be an entertaining spectacle. If they try to work it as a faux-MMA wankfest? Then all bets are off though.

@tholzerman which WWE wrestler would make a quality Presidential candidate? Some showmanship, but needs solid intellect. #tweetbag

— Michael E. Kirby (@abvavrg) March 16, 2016

If you want someone who can win regardless of platform, you want Damien Sandow. He's a fiery orator, has magnetism for people, and if his Intellectual Savior of the Masses gimmick has any foundation in truth, he's smart enough to run. He'd also probably skew evangelical Republican, so maybe he wouldn't be best for the country, but he'd definitely run a winning campaign. If you're talking quality candidate all told, then it's probably Mick Foley, right? Right.

@tholzerman#Tweetbag Have you seen the Trevor Lee-Roy Wilkins 105 minute match yet, and what are your thoughts on it?

— Okori Wadsworth (@OkoriWadsworth) March 16, 2016

I have not, but I have some thoughts on the uproar it caused when it happened. First off, the fact that so many people had opinions on Twitter about it the night it happened without being in attendance for it is ludicrous. Few things can be judged without actually consuming them. But I get where the criticism came from, even if I didn't agree with it. Long matches can be hard to fill out. But wrestling, much like any piece of art, shouldn't have hard and fast rules. If you want to go 105 minutes in the ring, that won't make the match bad automatically. You'd have to know how to fill the time out, and I'm not sure how many wrestlers are able to do that. But I also think you can have a four minute match that is bad because you don't know how to fill that time. It's all about how you use those minutes.

#tweetbag If you could get anyone living to submit a ballot for TWB100, who would it be? @tholzerman

— What a Maneuver!! (@what_a_maneuver) March 16, 2016

Without a doubt, I'd want it to be someone who's been in the ring on the highest level, and right now, the guy who'd be most intriguing would be Steve Austin. He talks a lot about nuts and bolts of matches on his podcast, and I'd love to have his perspective on how to rank wrestlers.

@tholzerman I understand that WWE is a fantasy world, but why is it so difficult for Creative to think up/maintain coherent story arcs?

— Marty G (@ThisPhillyFan) March 16, 2016

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Thanks to Brian Brown for inspiring that answer.

@tholzerman Is WWE poised to make Roman the next "some love him some don't" as Cena was, or are they gonna wise up and cut the cord?

— Friendship is Magic (@TheAEJohnson) March 16, 2016

I don't think cutting the cord completely on Reigns is a wise decision. He's got value as an in-ring hand, and he's shown that with the right booking, he can connect with the crowd. As I'll answer below, boos for him aren't necessarily a bad thing, even if he's booked as a babyface. That being said, I get a stronger feeling every day that he may not be walking out of the Mania with the title. As much as a Triple H triumphant title victory in 2016 would make me age ten years, it would be the perfect catalyst for Reigns to go heel. Honestly, with John Cena coming back soon and Dean Ambrose as HOT HOT HOT as he is, a heel run for Reigns might be the thing that puts him in the best position for the future.

@tholzerman reports from Smackdown say that Roman enters from the ramp; is this by itself a tacit admission of his failure as The Guy?

— Henry David theWoke (@headbuttstopage) March 16, 2016

On the contrary, I think it's WWE's way of telling everyone he still is the man. Individuality is for the mid-card. If you're one of Vince BY GOD McMahon's top stars, you follow a formula. Entering from the ramp is part of that formula.

@tholzerman

Does kayfabe still have a place in wrestling? If so, to what degree?@Shake_Well@intlobject@wrestlespective@earthdog

— Pure Gristle (@PureGristle) March 16, 2016

Depends on what kind of "kayfabe" you mean. If you mean the act of keeping character at all times to the point where heels and faces shouldn't hang out in public, then fuck and no. Wrestling at this point needs to embrace the fact that it is an a work and that it's more of an art than a sport (although losing the sport aspect of it completely would be dumb, as I've pointed out before even the most comical/artsy promotions like Chikara have some of the most stringent adherences to sport). But internal kayfabe, i.e. treating the work as 100 percent real during all sponsored events (TV, PPV, house shows, etc.) is vitally important. One would think that this dynamic should make sense since it's commonplace in other media that may not use the term "kayfabe" to let you know that what happens in the art is to be treated as real. But wrestling is just so weird,y'know?

@tholzerman Why has my body rejected me? #TweetBag

— Star of Savage (@StarOfSavage) March 16, 2016

Because, like me, you have gotten old. Sorry.

@tholzerman What are the top 5 wrestling themes you'd like to be introduced to at a wedding reception #TweetBag

— Brian Charlie Brown (@brianbrown25) March 16, 2016

1. John Cena, if only to recreate the Chicago WrestleMania entrance with all the groomsmen and bridesmaids on the side like the gangsters and the bride and groom recreating Cena's mannerisms all the way, even to the point of turning to the cameraman and saying something pithy.
2. Bayley. Any excuse to integrate a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man into a wedding is a good one, and everyone would get a souvenir slap bracelet to boot.
3. Ultimate Warrior. This one's for the runners and those who enjoy their stimulants. However, it's only for use when the venue has a long runway for the full effect.
4. Daniel Bryan, for maximum "YES!" chantage.
5. Brie Bella. One, I want everyone in the room to suffer brain debilitation at the beginning of the song, and two, everyone in the place will probably be in Brie Mode at the time, especially since I believe every wedding should have an open bar.

@tholzerman At what point do we admit that male WWE fans have decided to permanently boo Reigns regardless of how he is booked?

— Elliot (@elliotsemi) March 16, 2016

I think admission right now for a large part of the crowd that Reigns can never win is the right thing. The "Cena sucks" crowd is hard one to have its mind collectively changed. But that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Crowd noise is a desired byproduct, right? If people are reacting to Reigns, then what WWE is doing is workin to a point.

@tholzerman What is the right size for a child's first birthday party? #tweetbag

— Rich Thomas (@earthdog) March 16, 2016

Having thrown first birthday parties for two kids now, I have some experience in the matter. People love coming to babies parties because babies are so darn cute. But if you invite too many people, you might come off as a tad greedy. I'd say about 50 people is a good number if I had to estimate. If you have more relatives/friends that you're close with, more is fine too.

@tholzerman You excited for any big movies this summer? #tweetbag

— boxwatcher (@boxwatcher) March 17, 2016

Hell yeah! Captain America: Civil War is the big one, obviously. Winter Soldier is in my top five MCU movies, maybe even top three or two, and this installment will have the same director back with a similar tone. X-Men: Apocalypse is next on the list, because the first two X reboot movies were really good, plus this one has Oscar freakin' Isaac as the titular villain. Finding Dory is next as a movie that I'm looking forward to taking my son. Finally, Ghostbusters and Independence Day: Resurgence may seem on the surface movies that are superfluous cash-ins on nostalgia, but I loved the three movies that preceded those two, and am interested to see where they go.

@tholzerman guessing a rating for each on a scale from 1 to 10, how much better is NXT Dallas going to be than Wrestlemania

— The Hipster Hunk® (@hipsterboner) March 17, 2016

This exercise is tricky, because Mania for the last two years was one of the best events on the calendar. Last year especially, the build was milquetoast as fuck, and it turned out to be one of the more enjoyable shows in recent memory. So I'd estimate a rating of seven for Mania right now. All the Takeovers to date (ArRIVAL included) have been some degree of LIT AS FUCK. On paper, Takeover: Dallas could be the best one yet. I'd forecast a nine for that. So, I'd say Takeover will be better but not by much. Either way, it should be a pretty good weekend for the market leader in pro wrestling.

@tholzerman Do you think there is an inverse correlation between popularity and the amount of people who've seen you?

— Legit Moose (@Moose_Bigelow) March 17, 2016

Not really, because some people are really popular BECAUSE a bunch of people have seen them. I think popularity comes in a lot of flavors. It's too unpredictable.

@tholzerman Why is CM Punk mad online? #tweetbag#GhostBear

— Brian Coulter (@PhilaBCoulter) March 17, 2016

I think this question might have been better had I done the Tweet Bag in a timelier fashion. But anyway, Punk is mad because Radko Gudas is too much hockey player for him to handle. TOO MUCH.

The Bucks will charge into action today Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

This tournament is blowing by. The second spate of round two matches is today, but before that, I will run down the winners from the first half of action in the blockquote:

Rock n Roll Express, British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Four Horsemen, Steiner Bros., Harlem Heat, Road Warriors, Hollywood Blondes

Now that the winners have been announced, the time has arrived to find out which eight teams will join them in the Sweet 16. ONWARD AND UPWARD!

2000s

No. 1 Dudley Boys
Put MNM through tables

vs. No. 8 BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs
Emo'd all over Da Hit Squad



No. 4 Edge and Christian
Conchairto'd the Brothers of Destruction

vs. No. 5 Motor City Machine Guns
Made LAX cry in Detroit



No. 15 SteenErico
Feuded past the Briscoes

vs. No. 7 Second City Saints
Welcomed Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle to Chicago, motherfucker



No. 3 Hardy Boys
Took Brian Kendrick and Paul London to the extreme

vs. No. 6 The World's Greatest Tag Team
Gold medaled past Los Guerreros



2010s

No. 1 Young Bucks
Superkicked War Machine

vs. No. 8 The Shield
Believed they could beat Forever Hooligans



No. 13 New Day
Made reDRagon look like booty

vs No. 12 Osirian Portal
Danced all over the American Wolves



No. 2 The Addiction
Threw appletinis into the faces of the Killer Elite Squad

vs. No. 7 Kings of Wrestling
Reigned over the Devastation Corporation



No. 14 The Throwbacks
Knocked the Usos out of the park

vs. No. 6 Beer Money
Smashed bottles over Rhodes Boys heads



VOTE!

Big Damo was Cabana's guest this week Photo Credit: David Wilson/ICW.co.uk

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: Art Of Wrestling
Episode: 293 (March 16, 2016)
Run Time: 1:08:47
Guest: Damo (8:23)

Summary: Colt Cabana’s guest is Insane Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Damo, so the opening focuses heavily on living in Ireland and that country’s wrestling history, complicated by its political past. They bond over growing up sheltered (albeit under different over) and broadening cultural horizons through wrestling. Damo explains how wrestling grew in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, then gets into his own personal training background, including the inevitable Fergal Devitt references. He talks about the growth of ICW and working in Glasgow, Scotland, and his own physical evolution. They again find common ground in self-evaluation and reflection, and Damo wraps up talking about the recent boom in wrestling popularity.

Quote of the week:“I’m not a negative person by any stretch of the imagination, I’ve just seen it happen before in Scotland, and I was just, I don’t think — will the boom, will the bubble burst at 1,000? OK, will it burst at 2,000? So then, they get 4,000, and now they’re gonna do 10,000, you know, you’re just like, ‘Wow. OK. That’s — that is crazy.’ You know, it’s not perfect. You know, it’s not the — I can’t look you in the face and say it’s the best roster in the world. But, you know, the crowd love everything that happens on that show, and that’s amazing, you know, that’s the — you could maybe replace wrestler X with a better talent from England, but wrestler X is madly over. … Are you an idiot then?”

Why you should listen: Damo is very well spoken and, unsurprisingly, a great source of information on pro wrestling in his corner of Europe. The thoughts he has about his own career or wrestling in general are easily understandable to American fans, and the context he provides about Northern Ireland, Scotland and many of the people he’s encountered make this episode stand out among Art Of Wrestling entries as one in which the audience will most certainly come away having learned more than a thing or two.

Why you should skip it: The one thing you’re likely not going to learn a great deal about is Damo himself. I’ll admit to having no idea who the guy is based on seeing his name pop up in iTunes, and even after listening closely for an hour, I haven’t picked up much personal information that tells me things about Damo the person I couldn’t have presumed simply based on commonalities present in nearly all pro wrestlers.

Final thoughts: Sometimes a seemingly good guest gives a bland interview, sometimes a typically boring guest gets inexplicably compelling under the right circumstances. None of what Cabana and Damo cover is especially deep or meaningful, yet the entire conversation comes off as interesting. As usual with Art Of Wrestling, it’s nice to have a chance to think about pro wrestling without focusing even a tiny bit on the Road to WrestleMania, and Damo is the perfect guest for that antidote. You’re not likely to remember this one when year-end wrap-ups come around, but it’s an evergreen episode that hums along nicely until it’s over — nothing too high or too low, and sometimes that’s all you need to feel you spent your listening time well.

Ziggler and Miz are total frenemies Photo Credit: WWE.com

There were only four matches on the show again this week. Normally one of my selling points for exclusively watching Smackdown is that I can still get all the important RAW plot points without having to actually watch RAW, but these lengthy recaps and talking segments are getting ridiculous.

Best Friends Who Are Not Friends – Dolph Ziggler and The Miz
If WWE could figure out if they want Dolph Ziggler to be important, that would be swell. You can't have him going from single-handedly taking on the Authority, to being all but forgotten, to exchanging words with Stephanie McMahon, to exchanging wins with the Miz. He flip-flops on relevance more than he flops while selling. That being said, I actually enjoyed his bout against the Miz on Smackdown. They played off against each other really well, and for two guys who have faced each as often over the years as they have, it's pretty amazing that I can still get invested in a match between them. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned lack of definition in his story, Ziggler's hard-fought win was a little hollow, but this was still more than I've enjoyed watching him in ages. There are worse things Smackdown could have than good matches of no real consequence.

Should Not Be Friends – Goldust and R-Truth
I'm genuinely baffled that this Golden Truth thing is still, well, a thing. Does anybody actually care about whether R-Truth and Goldust will form a tag team? Given that Goldust was beaten fairly quickly by Bubba Ray Dudley during their match and that Truth, when he ran in to help, was also quickly taken care of and that their backstage shenanigans have been pretty painfully unfunny, how is anybody supposed to work up any enthusiasm for this? With a roster thinning out due to injuries, they could have thrown Goldust in against anyone – Neville, Kalisto, my beloved MIA Damien Sandow, or, hell, STARDUST – for some instantly great matches, and instead he's wasted on this go-nowhere garbage.

Least Competent Friends – The League of Nations
I'm really not sure why the League of Nations is getting a title shot against the New Day at WrestleMania when the New Day have already beaten them pretty soundly at both singles and tag matches. I know the selling point for it is that the match will be four on three -- Oh noes! Except that the League can't even out-cheat the New Day when they have three guys on the outside of the ring as opposed to two, as demonstrated during King Barrett's match against Kofi Kingston. The League looked pretty pathetic here, to be honest. Their apparent incompetence and inertia combined with the fact that all four of these guys have been kind of a big deal in the past makes me feel genuinely sad about the League. On the other hand, they do seem to genuinely have a good time together. They're always hugging each other and cheering one another on, and that's a level of friendship I can get behind, win/loss records be damned.

Best Friend Forever and Always – Bo Dallas
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the brief segment involving the Social Outcasts hanging out on the ring apron and chatting about the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale, like they just got out of school or something. Weird premise notwithstanding, precious wrestling raindrop Bo Dallas once again proved that he is too good for all of us when he fervently looked forward to all four of them wining the match TOGETHER. Then, when his team mates each selfishly expressed a desire to win individually, Dallas nodded in support of each of them like a damp angel.

Then Dean Ambrose swung by to scatter the Outcasts and invite Brock Lesnar to Smackdown next week, both actions which I took as a personal betrayal. That's a level of ruinage that I would expect from Dolph Ziggler, Ambrose. Be better than that. Be like Bo Dallas.

Also, grumpy weirdo Adam Rose is becoming a real favourite of mine.

Most Dedicated Hater of Friendship – Kevin Owens
Have you been recently betrayed by your bitter enemy turned best friend turned bitter enemy? Why not have a match against a guy who hates friendship and everything else? AJ Styles' match against Kevin Owens was a pretty great reason to watch Smackdown, even though Styles fell victim to the classic distraction blunder. Owens' disdain for everyone and everything continued to give me life, but I was sad to hear him barking at Mauro Ranallo like he was Michael Cole. How could you turn your back on a beautifully Canadian friendship like that? Oh, Kevin Owens, is there no one you can love?
Speaking of Ranallo, I might as well get in my weekly jab at Jerry Lawler's shitty commentary this week. Ranallo called Styles pulling off an ushigoroshi, after which we were treated to Lawler braying about what a weird word that was and mocking Ranallo for daring to know any non-English terms. Way to elevate the discourse, you racist fuck.

A final note: Evil Jericho has been putting together the douchiest looking ensembles, and I kind of love it. I was pretty damn impressed that he was able to pull off a codebreaker while wearing the tightest pants known to man.