We're getting down to the nitty-gritty here. The next level down from the top echelon, if you will.
20. Adam Cole
Points: 2199
Ballots: 27
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Alex Torres, Pablo Alva, Typical ROH Fan)
Last Year's Placement: 80th Place
TH: I had always liked Adam Cole from the first time I saw him in the pre-show to Dragon Gate USA's second ever show in Philadelphia (third overall), when he and Kyle O'Reilly had a dark match. But then he went and told El Generico to suck his dick in the beginning of their first round match at the Battle of Los Angeles, and I got the hype fully. There was something to him as a whitebread babyface guy that ROH had tapped into in the early part of 2012, of course. His match with Roderick Strong made him in Philly, and he was by far the best guy in the 10th Anniversary Show tag main event. Even in his initial PWG shows, where he was just tasked with going out and doing crazy tag shit with the Super Smash Bros. and the Young Bucks, he was pretty good.
But that Battle of Los Angeles unlocked a wholly different side that apparently he was quite good at showing in CZW. Dick heel Adam Cole is one of the five best characters in any form in any promotion in America. Oh man, whether he's shunted off to WWE or stays on the indies to further make it his own, this guy has nowhere to go but up.
Cewsh: Ring of Honor has begun to rise again as a promotion to watch, but in 2012 there were only just inklings that that was what might come, as the company was far from compelling throughout much of the year. But despite that, Adam Cole managed to push his way through and grab the attention of people who didn’t even watch ROH anymore, (myself included.) With his gutsy, hybrid in ring style, and his terrific Television title reign, Adam Cole put himself on the map big time in 2012. And he’s only going to get better.
Eamon Paton: One of the reasons Adam Cole is so great is that he exhibits a great deal of versatility. He is the douchey, self-centered heel in companies like PWG and CZW (Cole beings one of the few reasons you should follow CZW) as well as the charming, resilient babyface in places like Ring Of Honor. Wrapped up in all of that is a very skilled pro wrestler that has put on consistently great matches all throughout the year, making him one to look out for in 2013.
Alex Torres: We knew Cole was a good wrestler, but PWG showed the world what CZW fans knew all along (and ROH seems to miss), and that's that Adam Cole is one of the best heels in wrestling. Stay fat, Kevin.
Typical ROH Fan: Break out year. Best babyface in ROH. Best heel in PWG. So many awesome matches. Even in the few CZW showings I've seen, he is pretty great there and the highlight of those shows. 2012 was the year of Adam Win Win. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Kyle O'Reilly at ROH Best In The World)
19. Seth Rollins
Points: 2224
Ballots: 31
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Paolo Chikiamco, David Shoemaker)
Last Year's Placement: 70th Place
TH: Seth Rollins has come a long way since being Tyler Black, that gangly and awkward dude with the skunk hair, festooned in Hot Topic-inspired gear in ROH who could only entertain in the ring when in there with Nigel McGuinness or Bryan Danielson. He was great as Ryback's personal punching bag in the TLC six man tag, but it would have taken more than just one match for him to get on my ballot. He actually built up a solid resume in FCW in matches that popped up on YouTube, including a fun little sprint vs. Rick Victor and a sprightly live lumberjack match against Damien Sandow.
18. Christopher Daniels
Points: 2296
Ballots: 24
Highest Vote: 4th Place (George Murphy)
Last Year's Placement: 38th Place
TH: I enjoyed Daniels a lot out of the ring last year, but I didn't really realize how good he was in it until I reflected back upon his year. Most of it was spent around AJ Styles, but that is the rare matchup where it doesn't matter how many times it happens, it ends up to be at the very least solid when it does happen. He also gets bonus points from me for working in Gangnam Style as a crowd taunt. What can I say, I like quickly-antiquated pop culture references.
Eamon Paton: Christopher Daniels has provided me with so many laughs and giggles on TNA Impact throughout 2012 that he has to be put on this list. I think he’s one of those stars that you never expect to gain a major championship, and you don’t expect to win all the time, but you know he is going to entertain you everytime he is on the screen. That is something that not a lot of people have, and it is what put Daniels on my list for the top in 2012.
John Rosenberger: Another guy I was late on adopting. I never really got TNA until this year. Part of this is due to Danielle Matheson’s Impact tweets, which turned in to her wonderfully written Best and Worst columns. My other entrée was the incredible work that Daniels and Kazarian do as bad influence. Since we can’t include out of ring work, I’ll be honest and say that Kaz doesn’t really do it for me in the ring but man alive, is there something wonderful about watching Daniels do his thing. Hell, I even watched TNA pay-per-views to see him wrestle AJ Styles, who I once swore I would never watch because he made a bunch of rude comments to me at a Brooklyn Cyclones game, but that’s another story for another day.
Typical ROH Fan: Amazing how he delivered the best year of his career which has been both wonderful and quite frankly a long one. He isn't as young as the rest of the guys on this list yet he can still go with any of them. His tag matches with Kaz were mostly very good and his singles work in the BFG series also delivered big time. (Favorite 2012 match: with Kazarian vs. AJ Styles and Kurt Angle at TNA Slammiversary)
17. Bully Ray
Points: 2316
Ballots: 29
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Victor Rodgers)
Last Year's Placement: 22nd Place
TH: Bully in the ring flipped 180 degrees so seamlessly I thought he might have been anchored on a swivel point. Point to the match he had with Joseph Park in the summer where it was just him being true to his name, kicking the crap out of the erstwhile-Abyss as one of the best examples of heel work. Then, check out any of his matches post-alliance with Sting and watch him master the art of working babyface. I dig versatility, and it doesn't hurt that Bully is one of the finest brawlers TNA has right now.
Ryan Kilma: Can’t we say now that Bully Ray is the greatest ECW alumnus of all time? Sure, Jericho, Malenko, and Benoit, all rode their horses through the bingo hall, but Bully went from being known as “one of the table guys” to being one of the only non-depressing guys in TNA and an absolute delight to watch at times.
16. Chris Jericho
Points: 2361
Ballots: 32
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Joe Drilling)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked
TH: I have to admit that I was underwhelmed by Jericho's return to the WWE last year. He had good matches. He even had a few great matches, mostly against CM Punk. However, I felt like there was something missing. That being said, Jericho with something missing is still at the very least entertaining enough to get a spot in the 90s on my ballot. Plus, he had the best match at WrestleMania, which should count for something, right?
John Rosenberger: There are many wrestlers who come and go as they please and every time they do I lose my enthusiasm bit by bit. For example, there’s your Randy Orton who either due to Wellness or movie shoots can’t stay a consistent presence and every time he vanishes I care less and less. Then there’s a Chris Jericho who could go out for as many packs of smokes as he wants and whenever he walks back through those doors I will accept him with open arms. He’s a great technical wrestler, has tons of charisma and doesn’t mind putting over talent or stomping them in to the ground, whatever the WWE asks him to do, he will do with vim and vigor and I don’t care how many times he walks away, I will be sitting on the porch waiting for him when he comes home.
15. Damien Sandow
Points: 2496
Ballots: 33
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Robert Dorman)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked
TH: SILENCE! I am about to speak to you about the grappling wonderment that was Damien Sandow's calendar frame in 2012. Of all the wrestlers in FCW that I checked out from the first half of 2012, I think I watched the most Sandow. He was clearly the best guy going in developmental at that time. He had a trilogy of matches with Richie Steamboat where he was far and away the best wrestler in that match. He also had great performances against Leo Kruger and Seth Rollins in matches where he didn't have as much to work with.
What really got me into him was his viciousness. He was so ruthless, and it belied his erudite, scholarly character. One might expect him to break out chain wrestling exchanges, but there he was, using his intelligence in other ways to exact brutal pain on his opponents. Whether it was trapping Steamboat in between the apron and the ring skirt, or corralling any number of his opponents in a full nelson and slamming them face first into the turnbuckle, he was a sight to behold.
He dropped the nelson spot upon arrival to the main roster, but he still kept his trademark mean streak. He had several matches against Sheamus where he not only beat the shit out of a man 50% bigger than he was, but did so extremely believably. A lot of that goes to Sheamus, obviously, but you gotta have fire behind your offense. He also had a good run with Cody Rhodes as a tag team, and his Main Event match with John Cena was definitely a treat. In 2012, Sandow had all the reason to tell everyone "You're welcome," because the man deserved major gratitude for the year he had in that squared circle.
14. Cody Rhodes
Points: 2555
Ballots: 34
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Justin Daley)
Last Year's Placement: 7th Place
TH: For the longest time, I thought the youngest Runnells son was struggling to grow into his own self as a pro wrestler. It seemed 2012 was the year that it would all start to really click for him. The Big Show series helped him a lot, but I think working with Show would help anyone of any size. He had more than a few solid free TV singles matches, and his tag run with Damien Sandow was definitely a highlight of the year for him. I don't think he's "14th place good," but I have fewer qualms about people rating him this high as I would, uh, I don't know, Randy Orton.
13. The Big Show
Points: 2598
Ballots: 32
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Luke Starr)
Last Year's Placement: 35th Place
TH: There is no one more historically underrated than The Big Show. From the time he got back from OVW Fat Camp until now, he has been one of the most reliable hands on the roster, but I feel like people still like to bag on him for being "lazy" or "slow." It's been a decade now, people. This year, for example, he did wonders for Daniel Bryan through the matches, even if the build around them was suspect. Then he helped Cody Rhodes improve in the ring. Then he turned heel and gained a renewed focus that led to some really strong matches with Sheamus. Yet people still groaned when he came out. There's no accounting for taste, but if you're still bagging on Big Show for being a "poor worker" in 2012, you need to get your head checked.
Jesse Powell: No one has flip-flopped from face to heel and back like the Big Show. He can do everything, and no matter what he is utterly believable whether he is smiling while holding little kids, crying after winning the piece of scrap metal known as the IC title, or knocking out innocent bystanders with his thunderous fist.
Robot Hammer: Given his size and tenure in wrestling, Big Show could slip into neutral and coast for the rest of his career. But his series of matches with Sheamus and del Rio show that the big guy's still got a lot left to give in the ring. I'd argue he's one of the most giving big men in wrestling's history. Good guy, bad guy, or somewhere in between, it's irrelevant. Big Show is one of the WWE's most dependable performers.
Dylan Hales: I actually don't have a ton to say about Show, but since he made my top ten I feel obligated to explain it briefly. There were guys who had more great matches and who's best matches were better. But in 2012 I don't think anyone worked harder than Show night in and out. Every time he popped up he was busting his ass doing something and in the process he had some great matches, including the really great series with Sheamus, and the run of bouts early in the year with Daniel Bryan where I thought he looked incredible. In my dream scenario he would get a whole year to work competent opponents, in meaningful matches, because I believe Show is a guy capable of finishing on top of my ballot in ideal conditions. Maybe 2013 will be that year.
12. Robert Roode
Points: 2624
Ballots: 33
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Cewsh, Justin Daley, Jay Sanudo)
Last Year's Placement: 14th Place
TH: Roode was exactly the kind of guy TNA needed on top of their promotion. He was in his prime as Champion (and still is right now), was able to get great matches out of everyone on the difficulty scale, and he had a great handle on psychology unlike some other wrestlers getting paid big bucks to be in their main event. The James Storm match at Lockdown was a great pay-per-view main event, and everyone raves over the Aries series, but I point to his one match with Sting on Impact, where he dragged one more solid match out of the old codger in facepaint. To me, that means a lot more than getting to tell a story with someone who CAN do it on a regular basis any day.
Cewsh: The fact that TNA hasn’t crowned Bobby Roode Champion For Life after the 2012 he had just further reinforces that they have no idea what in the hell they have in him. From the first show of the year to the last, Bobby Roode carried TNA on his shoulders in 2012, bringing better matches than should have been possible out of the likes of Jeff Hardy, James Storm, Sting, and even Austin Aries. His matches made the World title credible in TNA for the first time in years, and nearly all of it was due to his surehanded heel work, his faultless technical skills and the slew of great performances that he put in to give TNA a champion that the fans could actually appreciate. He’s now stuck in a tag team with Austin Aries. Because TNA is TNA.
Typical ROH Fan: I love Bobby Roode. He has always been one of my favorites to watch since the early TNA on Fox Sports days. Was so awesome to see his title run in 2012. I thoroughly enjoyed it and consider it up there with one of Christian Cage's and AJ Styles as best TNA champ. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Austin Aries at Destination X)
11. John Cena
Points: 2868
Ballots: 37
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Scott Holland, Luke Starr)
Last Year's Placement: 4th Place
TH: Every time I want to say John Cena took a step back in 2012, I get reminders of what he can really do in the ring. For example, the match with The Rock at Mania wasn't all that good by any stretch of the imagination, but the fact that it wasn't a disaster speaks volumes for the hernia Cena gave himself carrying Rock's bloated ass around the ring, even as the big-time movie star gasped for air and forgot where he was supposed to be. Then the next month at Extreme Rules, he and Brock Lesnar wrestled maybe the most unique match in WWE history, one that was stiff, suspenseful, and satisfactory, even from a standpoint of who won.
Then he went onto series with old rivals like Big Show and CM Punk, where he once again had consistent match quality throughout each feud. Then there was the Ziggler feud, which was ass out of the ring, but just tremendous in the ring. All of that isn't even taking into account the spot matches he'd have on free TV with guys like Daniel Bryan and Damien Sandow, which did more for them in defeat because he didn't go Super-Cena all over their asses. He made them look somewhat on his level. Cena's an easy guy to take for granted because he's so inconsistent out of the ring, but WWE is lucky to have a guy like him anchoring the product inside of it.
Cewsh: Matchwise this wasn’t the best year of his career, but it was certainly close. In a year that centered around his storyline inadequacies, he shined in matches against CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and Dolph Ziggler. Cena somehow grew into a role as the workhorse of the WWE main event all throughout the year, without many even seeming to notice. He had a long way to go to erase the stink caused by the first 3 months of his year against Kane and, to a lesser extent, the Rock, but for my money, John Cena had as good a second half as anyone in the world in 2012. And perhaps nobody in the world turned in such consistently quality matches against such a wide variety of styles and opponents as Cena.
Ryan Kilma: John Cena’s five moves of doom have become so integrated in my brain that it becomes a minor miracle whenever somebody counters the Protobomb or Five-Knuckle Shuffle. And if someone kicks out of the Attitude Adjustment? Ragnarok. That’s what made his match with CM Punk early this year so epic: the WWE has trained us to accept that John Cena’s Fireman’s Carry is the equivalent to gunfire and all shall crumble beneath it. But when people kick out of his unbeatable moves it leads to mass confusion, which then leads to piledrivers and hurricaranas.
John Rosenberger: Unpopular choice to be sure, but so much about a good wrestling match and in turn a good wrestler is about what they make you feel in the heat of the moment. I, personally, think his actual wrestling improved a lot in 2012 and despite what I think about him on the mic or as a person in general, he was all in all fairly entertaining to me throughout the past year.
Dylan Hales: If we were judging guys based solely on their best performances you could make a strong case for Cena at number one. Between the ladder match with Dolph Ziggler, the excellent match with CM Punk and the match of the decade candidate with Brock Lesnar, Cena had about as strong a year as you can have from a big match perspective, especially when much of the rest of the year was spent working angles with Johnny Ace or The Rock. Where Cena suffers some is that he did not have a ton of out of the park stuff on tv in 2012, and there is no way to get around that. In the end he had to be in my top ten, but it felt like a mild stretch to put him in the top five. Looking back it was a strange year, with astronomical peaks and then a whole lot of.....?
Typical ROH Fan: I like Cena. In the ring. I think he's highly entertaining and often times can deliver a classic. Had some vintage matches to add to their series with CM Punk. Sure he had some horrid ones but his better matches evened it out. The match vs. Lesnar was my favorite WWE match in years. Such a memorable one. If only it was saved for the main event of WM 29... (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules)
10. ACH
Points: 3075
Ballots: 37
Highest Vote:1st Place (TH, Ryan Kilma)
Last Year's Placement: 54th Place
TH: I'm going to paraphrase a Bill Graham quote about the Grateful Dead to describe my feelings about ACH. He's not the best at what he does, he's the only person who does what he does. There are high flyers. There are athletic wonders. There are people with "swag," or guys who even affect Dragonball Z in their matches. But there's no one who combines everything I described above in the perfect percentages, nor do they add his panache or flair, nor do they have some of the wholly unique things that ACH brings to the table. There is no one I have ever seen like him, and that's why he's got my number one vote this year.
The main knock against ACH is that he's all athletics and isn't as good at "the wrestles." I don't see how anyone who has watched a single minute of any of his matches can claim that. Is it mutually exclusive that a guy who can jump really high and do a bunch of flips in the air isn't good at psychology? I don't know, I watched the end of the first Iron Man match between he and AR Fox, saw him cling to a one-fall lead, and do everything he could to make sure Fox was not physically able to get a pinfall on him. He ran around the ring. He clutched the ropes. He broke out Inoki kicks and played the best round of keepaway that I've seen since I played it myself in the schoolyard. That was his best example. It wasn't his only one though.
But he doesn't sell, is the next cry. That's bullshit too. He doesn't do long term selling in a match. I'm not sure that's a requirement for good wrestling. If it was, then people wouldn't fawn over Davey Richards. I understand that the crowd that praises Richards and bashes ACH may not be remotely inclusive. But it ignores the fact that ACH not only sells in short bursts, but that he also bumps huge. He goes into guardrails. He lands hard on aprons. You don't need to hold your arm for 20 minutes to show that you're hurt. Everything that's major enough to the match at hand always resurfaces at some point.
But enough about heading off the haters at the pass. This isn't a referendum on ACH's flaws. It's an appreciation of him as a wrestler. The man has a magnetic personality. He knows how to lead the charge behind him, and once the support is behind him, he conducts those swells into crescendos, sometimes without even having to turn around and beckon their support. A true master in the ring doesn't have to lead his own chants all the time.
Look, if the only thing that was good about him was his freakish athletics and his ridiculously impressive moveset, he'd be Shelton Benjamin. Shelton Benjamin sucks. However, ACH is amazing, and when his freak-of-nature offense is factored into his entire portrait, it makes all the difference in the world. Anyone can do something insanely athletic and pop a crowd. Fuck, look at John Morrison or Kofi Kingston or even Jack Evans. They do crazy shit, and you remember the moment but not the guy giving you said moment. It takes someone with real talent to harness it and make it part of a sensible repertoire that builds matches rather than pops spots.
And that's not even getting into the fact that nearly every time he went out and wrestled in 2012, he was having either the best match on the card or somewhere close to that. Strangely enough, he was outshined most in Texas in ACW, but that's only because they stupidly put him in four-way matches where the focus was on Jaykus Plisken or Shawn Vexx. I like both those guys as wrestlers, but if they're in the same match as ACH, and they're the ones getting most of the attention, there's a problem. I'm not even talking about offense. Fuck that. ACH would take like a big bump to be out of sight, out of mind, and then Plisken would go on and work over someone else as if they were the ones jawing with him before the match and not ACH. I love ACW. They were my promotion of the year last year. But they weren't perfect, and for a point in the spring/early summer, they totally fucked up what you do with ACH.
What do you do with him though? You do what AIW did with him and put him out there against the best of the best. You do what Chikara did and put him all the way through to the Young Lions' Cup Finals. You do what St. Louis Anarchy did and have him go up against the guys who would go as far as the Arch but not be able to/not want to venture down south to Austin. You do what Metro Pro did and make ACH a centerpiece of their televised programming when he was able to make it to their tapings.
Now we venture into dangerous territory. So ACH only has to be pushed to the moon to be good? What if he were on WWE TV every week, having to get his shit handed to him by Ryback or whomever else he was tasked at making look good? Again, I don't buy that one bit, because I can't think of any wrestler who came out of a match with ACH who didn't look just as good afterwards at least. Whether it was Mat Fitchett in a match shot on a shitty fancam on YouTube or Tim Donst in a main event for a major show in AIW, whether it was a random tournament match to open a show against Willie Mack or a Championship match on the flagship event against Gary Jay, ACH put in the same effort, flashed the same personality, and wrestled equally as excellently.
People are waiting for him to grow and evolve. I think ACH has a lot of room to improve, and that's what makes him right now so impressive to me. He could become Bryan Danielson good. He could be the best of all-time. He could be the guy who makes wrestling boom again. All because he's unique in the ring, a genuine article, a man who breaks molds.
ACH is not the best at what he does. He's the only one who does what he does. That's why he's my best wrestler of 2012. As much wrestling as I watched… hell, as much GREAT wrestling as I have watched in the last year, I don't think it was even close. That's how good I thought he was.
Ryan Kilma: From Bissonette to Chikarason (not alphabetical, there are others), nearly every wrestling announcer I’ve heard call an ACH match has called him “a human video game.” He can do things only programmed avatars can dream of. With all due respect to the late THQ, who filled my life with a random assortment of wrestling video games, that is an insult to ACH. You can’t perform a second-rope 450 in Here Comes the Pain. It’s impossible to replicate “Ready or Not, Here I Come!” in a Create-Your-Own-Finisher engine. ACH has yet to burst into flames after hitting three consecutive big moves, but I wouldn’t put it past him. See, right there. ACH’s offense has become so other-worldly that it’s becoming difficult to describe him without dissolving into a puddle of hyperbole. In 2012, ACH was the second most interesting three-letter-word in wrestling, trailing only the company he helped put on the map with six-month old matches.
Alex Torres: ACH spread his special brand of Super Saiyan wrestling in ways no one else has duplicated, appearing on IPPVs for DGUSA, Chikara, CZW, and ROH in the calendar year. And he's still a young gun.
Jennifer Logsdon: I saw ACH for the first time in person at CHIKARA and then again at Insanity Pro. Attitude, Charisma, Heart. He has all three and more in spades. He's the future of wrestling and the future is NOW.
Lee Spriggs: I do sometimes worry that I'm taking ACH for granted. He may be the most gifted physical specimen out there (I think he and AR Fox can both lay claim to that title, which makes their AIW Iron Man matches so glorious) and he's only getting better in the ring. But he's so damn inventive: every match I think I've ever seen of his has something I've never seen him, let alone anyone else, do before. And he has personality to spare, able to go comedic for long stretches, as we saw in his matches against Mr. Touchdown in Chikara.
He's been everywhere lately, and I can't imagine that he'll be in the indies for long; every match of his that I watch feels like watching Pedro Martinez circa the turn of the century: you have the chance to see a masterpiece, but at the very least it's going to be awe-inspiring.
9. Kevin Steen
Points: 3190
Ballots: 38
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Samantha Allen, Jerome Cusson)
Last Year's Placement: 18th Place
TH: Steen seems to be polarizing. Some hate him. Some say he only has good matches with Generico. Still others think everything he does is plated in gold. I'm somewhere in between all those places, but I tend to gravitate towards the superlatives. The guy is one of the most unique wrestlers on the scene, and it comes through in nearly every match.
I won't accuse Steen of being versatile. He very much works his style, and either you cheer him or you boo him. However, it's such a different style that I can forgive him for working with no alignment in mind (or at the very least as an amalgam of every Attitude Era anti-hero). In some ways, he's an impressionist wrestler in the same way Rocky has been described as such, but he's got a much better handle on how to organically get a crowd behind him. He's one of the few guys whose work remains consistent no matter what promotion or opponent he's in there against, and Steen in PWG is probably the purest form of him you'll find. It's also, not coincidentally, the best.
Alex Torres: The standard bearer for PWG and ROH. What else is there to say?
John Rosenberger: Yeah, yeah “He’s never had a good match that did involve Generico”. Guess what, I don’t really care about that. I find him entertaining, I like that he’s more than willing to interact with the crowd during matches and he gave my little cousin a weird look at Cibernetico Rises that he still talks about to this day. The Ladder War from Final Battle 2012 is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in person. We can talk all day about who was responsible for that but you know what? I think he deserves a bit more credit for how good it turned out than most people are giving him.
Shawn Duckett: Kevin Steen was one of the few bright spots in a lack luster year for ROH. Steen seemed develop into more of a brawler this past year, but he always delivered in the ring. He is the best trash talker in the business. Fans and opponents are always likely to get a verbal jab from Steen. The Ladder War with El Generico was the icing on the cake of a great year in ROH for Steen. Once again he put on superb matches in PWG. Kevin Steen put on a heck of a show in 2012 and I loved every minute of it.
Typical ROH Fan: Another dude who lit it up in both PWG and ROH. The ROH matches I enjoyed most were vs. Generico, Jacobs, Richards, Elgin, Rhino and Generico again. The PWG matches with Willie Mack, Generico (again), Edwards Edwards, Brian Cage and Adam Cole were my favorites over there. He had a really good one at Chikara too in the big multi team match. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. El Generico at ROH Showdown in the Sun)
8. Alberto del Rio
Points: 3260
Ballots: 40
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Robot Hammer)
Last Year's Placement: 5th Place
TH: I know I put forth in the guidelines that booking really shouldn't play a role in how to rank certain wrestlers, but it's almost like when del Rio came back from his injury after Mania, he was put in an endless cycle of awful stories against Sheamus, ones that hurt him more than it hurt the other guy in the ring. Still, he had a fine year, as any time wrestlers the caliber of him and Sheamus tilting in the ring produces at least decent matches. He also dragged a decent series out of Randy Orton before reenergizing and turning babyface at the end of the year, showing he's actually better playing the good guy than he was working rudo.
Cewsh: The trouble with 2012 for Alberto Del Rio is that is wasn’t 2013 yet. He’s already made a strong case to be a top 10 guy in 2013, but 2012 had him still stuck in a rut as a directionless bad guy in boring feuds. But even so, Del Rio was nothing close to a slouch in the ring. His matches with Sheamus were so good that they gave us about 40 of them against everyone’s better judgment, and his overlooked feud with Orton carried Smackdown through some lean months. He’s better than his ranking probably suggests, but he’ll have to wait for next year.
Robot Hammer: Del Rio has become one of the WWE's most reliable in ring performers. His matches with Sheamus, while surrounded by questionable at best story lines, were always solid. And for what it's worth, I could watch his running corner enzuigiri, on loop, for hours.
7. Sheamus
Points: 3320
Ballots: 39
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (TH)
Last Year's Placement: 10th Place
TH: Sheamus was the best in-ring wrestler in WWE in 2012.
I say that fully acknowledging Daniel Bryan's existence as a WWE-contracted wrestler. I state this with cognizance of CM Punk, John Cena, Big Show, and Damien Sandow all having tremendous years. There is no one who put in the amount of work week-in and week-out that Sheamus did on a consistent basis. He had at least one match every week on TV, sometimes working double duty on RAW and Smackdown or Main Event. He always got time to work, WrestleMania excepted. Each time, he made the most of his minutes.
First thing's first, the man is a certified hoss who had no problems throwing his size around. Whether against smaller wrestlers or in HOSS FIGHTS against The Big Show, Sheamus asserted himself with the force and dominance befitting a WWE main event superstar. He could stand out here and chip away at Mount Rushmore with his bare hands, and believe me, standing across the ring from a motivated Show is akin to tilting giant stone faces, and I'd believe it.
The dichotomy, though, was that he also was one of the most believable men in the company at working vulnerable. He had a series of matches with Sandow that was absolutely made because Sheamus got his ass kicked. He wasn't taking empty beatings either. As someone getting lost in the moment of a match, there were several times when I felt like Sandow had him, that he was going to end up getting a win somehow, that he was being portrayed as the better man. That means something.
He was also in one of the WWE's three best matches of the year, the two-out-of-three falls match against Bryan at Extreme Rules, a match that was as much Sheamus as it was Bryan. The secret is that I thought that was Bryan's best performance in a WWE ring to date, one that hearkened back to his independent days. So what does that say of Sheamus that he answered the bell and went toe to toe with the American Dragon?
Cewsh: Thank god this is about in ring quality, and not out of ring, because in 2012 Sheamus may have been the most unlikable babyface on the planet. But in the ring, he grew from a meat and potatoes kind of big man, into one of the most exciting and dependable wrestlers in WWE. Somewhere around his feud with Daniel Bryan, he started showing an incredible about of ability, and a great understanding of how to bring drama into a match. He carried this through feuds with Alberto Del Rio and the Big Show that would have been incredibly hard to enjoy had the matches not been so damn good. He was one of the unsung heroes in wrestling in 2012, without a doubt.
Robot Hammer: Sheamus has better free televised matches than some wrestlers have pay per view matches. From the top of the roster and all the way down, he put in quality work with everyone he stepped in the ring with. His character can be grating at times, but judging on in ring performance alone, few match up to the Celtic bruiser.
Ryan Kilma: The stipulation that only “in-ring prowess” counts knocked UltraMantis Black off my list and kept Sheamus from hanging out with Drew Lucid and Zack Ryder at the bottom of my Barrell O’ Wrestlers. He really is one of the most impressive hosses I’ve ever seen in the ring and can have a believable slugfest with almost anyone. If I was Vince McMahon I’d send Sheamus on a pilgrimage across America to terrorize independent wrestling. I may never buy an ROH DVD; but if it has that match where Sheamus kicks the shit out of Roderick Strong for 45 minutes? I might take a look.
John Rosenberger: The fact that this is entirely focused on in-ring product and not character work outside of it is why the Celtic Warrior ranks so high on this list, or at all for that matter. He took some shots this year that had me legitimately concerned for his well-being and bounced back strong, while still making moves look effective, as opposed to a certain Jorts wearing fella’ who jumps right up after every move hit.
Mike Germano: Sheamus is the best big man the WWE has had in years. Nothing against Mark Henry, who was inactive much of the year, but since his arrival, Sheamus has consistently shown that he can have a great match where he gives as good as he takes. While I greatly enjoy his battles with Big Show, his versatility in being able to work with all sizes really showed in one of my favorite matches of the year, his 2 out of 3 falls match with Daniel Bryan. Based solely on in-ring work, Sheamus was clearly one of the best in 2012.
Dylan Hales: I don't have a wrestling blog because I'm a lazy ass. Well that's part of it. Another reason I don't have a wrestling blog is because I really like wrestling discussion, more than I like the idea of recording my own thoughts in a central place for people to look at and likely not comment on. To me the give and take is the best part and if I don't have it it's hard to stay motivated.
I mention this only because people who do know me and are familiar with the way I talk and write about wrestling, know that I am really big on "week-to-week" wrestlers. When it comes to a poll like this, I will always favor guys who have depth and quality tv performances, particularly if it's against a motley crew of characters. It's why I have always been the high voter for Rey Misterio in these things and it's why I have Sheamus so high on my ballot this year.
In 2012 Sheamus had more televised matches than anyone in the WWE and he made the most out of it. Yes his best bouts were on ppv (vs. Show and Bryan), but Sheamus was the guy that really stepped into the Rey role of "guy we know can have a good ten plus minute match vs. anyone on the roster regardless of placement on the card or whether or not they have an angle together." It was a role that I believe was tested with Dolph, who flopped with it. So instead Sheamus was given the ball and had the home run matches with guys like Sandow, Barrett and Tensai that no one else was having. He wasn't the best guy in wrestling in 2012, but he was the best guy wrestling on TV week-to-week.
6. Austin Aries
Points: 3455
Ballots: 38
Highest Vote:1st Place (Justin Daley, Jamie Girouard, Victor Rodgers)
Last Year's Placement: 11th Place
TH: A Double proved that you don't need to be tall to have shoulders broad enough to carry a televised wrestling company. He started out remodeling and renovating the X-Division, one that was left threadbare by the parent company and really abandoned after he traded in his X gold for the World Title. Between New Year's and Destination X, he turned in some of the strongest free TV performances, including a match in England with Mark Haskins and a nice feud with Bully Ray that flared up at various points. Obviously his high water mark came as TNA Champion with highly acclaimed PPV matches against Bobby Roode and even Jeff Hardy.
You could make a strong case that Aries was the most valuable wrestler in any company in 2012. I give the Impact roster a little more credit, but the guy turned in strong efforts whenever he was called upon to do so. Not a whole lot of wrestlers have stronger resumes on television, and that counts for a lot.
Cewsh: 2012 basically belonged to 3 men in TNA. Bobby Roode, James Storm and Austin Aries. And while Roode and Storm got to work with the best TNA had to offer, Austin Aries managed to stay on their level while wrestling Kid Kash and Jesse Sorenson. Add that to the fact that he had TNA’s match of the year against Bobby Roode at Destination X and managed to carry Jeff Hardy to his best match in years at Bound For Glory, and this guy deserves a pat on the back at the very least.
Dylan Hales: Austin Aries was number 5 on my ballot, but in a strange way he feels like the only guy I could conceivably accept as a true rival to my number one (Sami Callihan). It's hard to fully articulate why, but I'll give it a shot - In 2012 Austin Aries had a "career" year and did so in the worst promotion in the history of pro wrestling and in the process of doing so had multiple great matches in a promotion that very rarely even has good matches. I cannot stress enough how impressive it is to be able to say that you had a GREAT in ring year in TNA.
Aries had a great in ring year in TNA. He had two outstanding matches v. Bully Ray and two more v. Bobby Roode (and let me be the first to say that Roode is overrated as all hell and had no clue how to carry the heel control segment in the first match - that was all Aries). His unsanctioned "fight" with pre-unmasked Doc was really good. He actually got an excellent match out of Samoa Joe, a guy who has been completely unmotivated and virtually incapable of having even decent matches for the last five years. And while I thought the ladder match with Jeff Hardy was a bit disappointing, it was still a strong match, with a really good performance from Aries. On top of all this he had strong in ring performances as both a face and a heel, as both the "star" of an undercard division and an "underdog" in the "star" division and in straight matches and gimmicked brawls. He also has the best tope in wrestling (though criminally underrated, Aries lookalike Kyle Matthews is a close second). So even though I had Aries number five I may have underrated him a tad. In any event he was 2012's Mark Henry - a previously unappreciated and poorly utilized talent, who was given the ball and ran with it.
Typical ROH Fan: During the hot TNA stretch of great shows, Aries was right in the middle of it. Even during some of the weaker shows, his X Division title matches or rematch vs Jeff Hardy were the best thing on the shows. Similar to Bryan, his variety of opponents were also impressive. X Division dudes like Zema Ion and Kid Kash to main eventers like Bobby Roode, Hardy, Samoa Joe (yeah I may be stretching there) to bigger dudes with different styles like Bully Ray and Luke Gallows, he delivered all year long. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Bobby Roode at Destination X)
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| Cole wrenching Kyle O'Reilly's arm Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Points: 2199
Ballots: 27
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Alex Torres, Pablo Alva, Typical ROH Fan)
Last Year's Placement: 80th Place
TH: I had always liked Adam Cole from the first time I saw him in the pre-show to Dragon Gate USA's second ever show in Philadelphia (third overall), when he and Kyle O'Reilly had a dark match. But then he went and told El Generico to suck his dick in the beginning of their first round match at the Battle of Los Angeles, and I got the hype fully. There was something to him as a whitebread babyface guy that ROH had tapped into in the early part of 2012, of course. His match with Roderick Strong made him in Philly, and he was by far the best guy in the 10th Anniversary Show tag main event. Even in his initial PWG shows, where he was just tasked with going out and doing crazy tag shit with the Super Smash Bros. and the Young Bucks, he was pretty good.
But that Battle of Los Angeles unlocked a wholly different side that apparently he was quite good at showing in CZW. Dick heel Adam Cole is one of the five best characters in any form in any promotion in America. Oh man, whether he's shunted off to WWE or stays on the indies to further make it his own, this guy has nowhere to go but up.
Cewsh: Ring of Honor has begun to rise again as a promotion to watch, but in 2012 there were only just inklings that that was what might come, as the company was far from compelling throughout much of the year. But despite that, Adam Cole managed to push his way through and grab the attention of people who didn’t even watch ROH anymore, (myself included.) With his gutsy, hybrid in ring style, and his terrific Television title reign, Adam Cole put himself on the map big time in 2012. And he’s only going to get better.
Eamon Paton: One of the reasons Adam Cole is so great is that he exhibits a great deal of versatility. He is the douchey, self-centered heel in companies like PWG and CZW (Cole beings one of the few reasons you should follow CZW) as well as the charming, resilient babyface in places like Ring Of Honor. Wrapped up in all of that is a very skilled pro wrestler that has put on consistently great matches all throughout the year, making him one to look out for in 2013.
Alex Torres: We knew Cole was a good wrestler, but PWG showed the world what CZW fans knew all along (and ROH seems to miss), and that's that Adam Cole is one of the best heels in wrestling. Stay fat, Kevin.
Typical ROH Fan: Break out year. Best babyface in ROH. Best heel in PWG. So many awesome matches. Even in the few CZW showings I've seen, he is pretty great there and the highlight of those shows. 2012 was the year of Adam Win Win. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Kyle O'Reilly at ROH Best In The World)
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| Rollins looks on Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 2224
Ballots: 31
Highest Vote: 7th Place (Paolo Chikiamco, David Shoemaker)
Last Year's Placement: 70th Place
TH: Seth Rollins has come a long way since being Tyler Black, that gangly and awkward dude with the skunk hair, festooned in Hot Topic-inspired gear in ROH who could only entertain in the ring when in there with Nigel McGuinness or Bryan Danielson. He was great as Ryback's personal punching bag in the TLC six man tag, but it would have taken more than just one match for him to get on my ballot. He actually built up a solid resume in FCW in matches that popped up on YouTube, including a fun little sprint vs. Rick Victor and a sprightly live lumberjack match against Damien Sandow.
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| Daniels delivering the uranage to AJ Styles on the chair Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com |
Points: 2296
Ballots: 24
Highest Vote: 4th Place (George Murphy)
Last Year's Placement: 38th Place
TH: I enjoyed Daniels a lot out of the ring last year, but I didn't really realize how good he was in it until I reflected back upon his year. Most of it was spent around AJ Styles, but that is the rare matchup where it doesn't matter how many times it happens, it ends up to be at the very least solid when it does happen. He also gets bonus points from me for working in Gangnam Style as a crowd taunt. What can I say, I like quickly-antiquated pop culture references.
Eamon Paton: Christopher Daniels has provided me with so many laughs and giggles on TNA Impact throughout 2012 that he has to be put on this list. I think he’s one of those stars that you never expect to gain a major championship, and you don’t expect to win all the time, but you know he is going to entertain you everytime he is on the screen. That is something that not a lot of people have, and it is what put Daniels on my list for the top in 2012.
John Rosenberger: Another guy I was late on adopting. I never really got TNA until this year. Part of this is due to Danielle Matheson’s Impact tweets, which turned in to her wonderfully written Best and Worst columns. My other entrée was the incredible work that Daniels and Kazarian do as bad influence. Since we can’t include out of ring work, I’ll be honest and say that Kaz doesn’t really do it for me in the ring but man alive, is there something wonderful about watching Daniels do his thing. Hell, I even watched TNA pay-per-views to see him wrestle AJ Styles, who I once swore I would never watch because he made a bunch of rude comments to me at a Brooklyn Cyclones game, but that’s another story for another day.
Typical ROH Fan: Amazing how he delivered the best year of his career which has been both wonderful and quite frankly a long one. He isn't as young as the rest of the guys on this list yet he can still go with any of them. His tag matches with Kaz were mostly very good and his singles work in the BFG series also delivered big time. (Favorite 2012 match: with Kazarian vs. AJ Styles and Kurt Angle at TNA Slammiversary)
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| Bully Ray, droppin' the elbow on Abyss Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com |
Points: 2316
Ballots: 29
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Victor Rodgers)
Last Year's Placement: 22nd Place
TH: Bully in the ring flipped 180 degrees so seamlessly I thought he might have been anchored on a swivel point. Point to the match he had with Joseph Park in the summer where it was just him being true to his name, kicking the crap out of the erstwhile-Abyss as one of the best examples of heel work. Then, check out any of his matches post-alliance with Sting and watch him master the art of working babyface. I dig versatility, and it doesn't hurt that Bully is one of the finest brawlers TNA has right now.
Ryan Kilma: Can’t we say now that Bully Ray is the greatest ECW alumnus of all time? Sure, Jericho, Malenko, and Benoit, all rode their horses through the bingo hall, but Bully went from being known as “one of the table guys” to being one of the only non-depressing guys in TNA and an absolute delight to watch at times.
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| Jericho pulls up to punch CM Punk Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 2361
Ballots: 32
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Joe Drilling)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked
TH: I have to admit that I was underwhelmed by Jericho's return to the WWE last year. He had good matches. He even had a few great matches, mostly against CM Punk. However, I felt like there was something missing. That being said, Jericho with something missing is still at the very least entertaining enough to get a spot in the 90s on my ballot. Plus, he had the best match at WrestleMania, which should count for something, right?
John Rosenberger: There are many wrestlers who come and go as they please and every time they do I lose my enthusiasm bit by bit. For example, there’s your Randy Orton who either due to Wellness or movie shoots can’t stay a consistent presence and every time he vanishes I care less and less. Then there’s a Chris Jericho who could go out for as many packs of smokes as he wants and whenever he walks back through those doors I will accept him with open arms. He’s a great technical wrestler, has tons of charisma and doesn’t mind putting over talent or stomping them in to the ground, whatever the WWE asks him to do, he will do with vim and vigor and I don’t care how many times he walks away, I will be sitting on the porch waiting for him when he comes home.
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| Sandow leaping over the guardrail to clothesline Sheamus Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 2496
Ballots: 33
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Robert Dorman)
Last Year's Placement: Not ranked
TH: SILENCE! I am about to speak to you about the grappling wonderment that was Damien Sandow's calendar frame in 2012. Of all the wrestlers in FCW that I checked out from the first half of 2012, I think I watched the most Sandow. He was clearly the best guy going in developmental at that time. He had a trilogy of matches with Richie Steamboat where he was far and away the best wrestler in that match. He also had great performances against Leo Kruger and Seth Rollins in matches where he didn't have as much to work with.
What really got me into him was his viciousness. He was so ruthless, and it belied his erudite, scholarly character. One might expect him to break out chain wrestling exchanges, but there he was, using his intelligence in other ways to exact brutal pain on his opponents. Whether it was trapping Steamboat in between the apron and the ring skirt, or corralling any number of his opponents in a full nelson and slamming them face first into the turnbuckle, he was a sight to behold.
He dropped the nelson spot upon arrival to the main roster, but he still kept his trademark mean streak. He had several matches against Sheamus where he not only beat the shit out of a man 50% bigger than he was, but did so extremely believably. A lot of that goes to Sheamus, obviously, but you gotta have fire behind your offense. He also had a good run with Cody Rhodes as a tag team, and his Main Event match with John Cena was definitely a treat. In 2012, Sandow had all the reason to tell everyone "You're welcome," because the man deserved major gratitude for the year he had in that squared circle.
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| Rhodes dropkicking The Big Show Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 2555
Ballots: 34
Highest Vote: 6th Place (Justin Daley)
Last Year's Placement: 7th Place
TH: For the longest time, I thought the youngest Runnells son was struggling to grow into his own self as a pro wrestler. It seemed 2012 was the year that it would all start to really click for him. The Big Show series helped him a lot, but I think working with Show would help anyone of any size. He had more than a few solid free TV singles matches, and his tag run with Damien Sandow was definitely a highlight of the year for him. I don't think he's "14th place good," but I have fewer qualms about people rating him this high as I would, uh, I don't know, Randy Orton.
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| Show shoving his boot right in CM Punk's throat Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 2598
Ballots: 32
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Luke Starr)
Last Year's Placement: 35th Place
TH: There is no one more historically underrated than The Big Show. From the time he got back from OVW Fat Camp until now, he has been one of the most reliable hands on the roster, but I feel like people still like to bag on him for being "lazy" or "slow." It's been a decade now, people. This year, for example, he did wonders for Daniel Bryan through the matches, even if the build around them was suspect. Then he helped Cody Rhodes improve in the ring. Then he turned heel and gained a renewed focus that led to some really strong matches with Sheamus. Yet people still groaned when he came out. There's no accounting for taste, but if you're still bagging on Big Show for being a "poor worker" in 2012, you need to get your head checked.
Jesse Powell: No one has flip-flopped from face to heel and back like the Big Show. He can do everything, and no matter what he is utterly believable whether he is smiling while holding little kids, crying after winning the piece of scrap metal known as the IC title, or knocking out innocent bystanders with his thunderous fist.
Robot Hammer: Given his size and tenure in wrestling, Big Show could slip into neutral and coast for the rest of his career. But his series of matches with Sheamus and del Rio show that the big guy's still got a lot left to give in the ring. I'd argue he's one of the most giving big men in wrestling's history. Good guy, bad guy, or somewhere in between, it's irrelevant. Big Show is one of the WWE's most dependable performers.
Dylan Hales: I actually don't have a ton to say about Show, but since he made my top ten I feel obligated to explain it briefly. There were guys who had more great matches and who's best matches were better. But in 2012 I don't think anyone worked harder than Show night in and out. Every time he popped up he was busting his ass doing something and in the process he had some great matches, including the really great series with Sheamus, and the run of bouts early in the year with Daniel Bryan where I thought he looked incredible. In my dream scenario he would get a whole year to work competent opponents, in meaningful matches, because I believe Show is a guy capable of finishing on top of my ballot in ideal conditions. Maybe 2013 will be that year.
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| Roode shoving a ladder into RVD's gut Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com |
Points: 2624
Ballots: 33
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Cewsh, Justin Daley, Jay Sanudo)
Last Year's Placement: 14th Place
TH: Roode was exactly the kind of guy TNA needed on top of their promotion. He was in his prime as Champion (and still is right now), was able to get great matches out of everyone on the difficulty scale, and he had a great handle on psychology unlike some other wrestlers getting paid big bucks to be in their main event. The James Storm match at Lockdown was a great pay-per-view main event, and everyone raves over the Aries series, but I point to his one match with Sting on Impact, where he dragged one more solid match out of the old codger in facepaint. To me, that means a lot more than getting to tell a story with someone who CAN do it on a regular basis any day.
Cewsh: The fact that TNA hasn’t crowned Bobby Roode Champion For Life after the 2012 he had just further reinforces that they have no idea what in the hell they have in him. From the first show of the year to the last, Bobby Roode carried TNA on his shoulders in 2012, bringing better matches than should have been possible out of the likes of Jeff Hardy, James Storm, Sting, and even Austin Aries. His matches made the World title credible in TNA for the first time in years, and nearly all of it was due to his surehanded heel work, his faultless technical skills and the slew of great performances that he put in to give TNA a champion that the fans could actually appreciate. He’s now stuck in a tag team with Austin Aries. Because TNA is TNA.
Typical ROH Fan: I love Bobby Roode. He has always been one of my favorites to watch since the early TNA on Fox Sports days. Was so awesome to see his title run in 2012. I thoroughly enjoyed it and consider it up there with one of Christian Cage's and AJ Styles as best TNA champ. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Austin Aries at Destination X)
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| Cena putting the STF on CM Punk Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 2868
Ballots: 37
Highest Vote: 3rd Place (Scott Holland, Luke Starr)
Last Year's Placement: 4th Place
TH: Every time I want to say John Cena took a step back in 2012, I get reminders of what he can really do in the ring. For example, the match with The Rock at Mania wasn't all that good by any stretch of the imagination, but the fact that it wasn't a disaster speaks volumes for the hernia Cena gave himself carrying Rock's bloated ass around the ring, even as the big-time movie star gasped for air and forgot where he was supposed to be. Then the next month at Extreme Rules, he and Brock Lesnar wrestled maybe the most unique match in WWE history, one that was stiff, suspenseful, and satisfactory, even from a standpoint of who won.
Then he went onto series with old rivals like Big Show and CM Punk, where he once again had consistent match quality throughout each feud. Then there was the Ziggler feud, which was ass out of the ring, but just tremendous in the ring. All of that isn't even taking into account the spot matches he'd have on free TV with guys like Daniel Bryan and Damien Sandow, which did more for them in defeat because he didn't go Super-Cena all over their asses. He made them look somewhat on his level. Cena's an easy guy to take for granted because he's so inconsistent out of the ring, but WWE is lucky to have a guy like him anchoring the product inside of it.
Cewsh: Matchwise this wasn’t the best year of his career, but it was certainly close. In a year that centered around his storyline inadequacies, he shined in matches against CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and Dolph Ziggler. Cena somehow grew into a role as the workhorse of the WWE main event all throughout the year, without many even seeming to notice. He had a long way to go to erase the stink caused by the first 3 months of his year against Kane and, to a lesser extent, the Rock, but for my money, John Cena had as good a second half as anyone in the world in 2012. And perhaps nobody in the world turned in such consistently quality matches against such a wide variety of styles and opponents as Cena.
Ryan Kilma: John Cena’s five moves of doom have become so integrated in my brain that it becomes a minor miracle whenever somebody counters the Protobomb or Five-Knuckle Shuffle. And if someone kicks out of the Attitude Adjustment? Ragnarok. That’s what made his match with CM Punk early this year so epic: the WWE has trained us to accept that John Cena’s Fireman’s Carry is the equivalent to gunfire and all shall crumble beneath it. But when people kick out of his unbeatable moves it leads to mass confusion, which then leads to piledrivers and hurricaranas.
John Rosenberger: Unpopular choice to be sure, but so much about a good wrestling match and in turn a good wrestler is about what they make you feel in the heat of the moment. I, personally, think his actual wrestling improved a lot in 2012 and despite what I think about him on the mic or as a person in general, he was all in all fairly entertaining to me throughout the past year.
Dylan Hales: If we were judging guys based solely on their best performances you could make a strong case for Cena at number one. Between the ladder match with Dolph Ziggler, the excellent match with CM Punk and the match of the decade candidate with Brock Lesnar, Cena had about as strong a year as you can have from a big match perspective, especially when much of the rest of the year was spent working angles with Johnny Ace or The Rock. Where Cena suffers some is that he did not have a ton of out of the park stuff on tv in 2012, and there is no way to get around that. In the end he had to be in my top ten, but it felt like a mild stretch to put him in the top five. Looking back it was a strange year, with astronomical peaks and then a whole lot of.....?
Typical ROH Fan: I like Cena. In the ring. I think he's highly entertaining and often times can deliver a classic. Had some vintage matches to add to their series with CM Punk. Sure he had some horrid ones but his better matches evened it out. The match vs. Lesnar was my favorite WWE match in years. Such a memorable one. If only it was saved for the main event of WM 29... (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules)
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| ACH about to splash Matthew Palmer Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy |
Points: 3075
Ballots: 37
Highest Vote:1st Place (TH, Ryan Kilma)
Last Year's Placement: 54th Place
TH: I'm going to paraphrase a Bill Graham quote about the Grateful Dead to describe my feelings about ACH. He's not the best at what he does, he's the only person who does what he does. There are high flyers. There are athletic wonders. There are people with "swag," or guys who even affect Dragonball Z in their matches. But there's no one who combines everything I described above in the perfect percentages, nor do they add his panache or flair, nor do they have some of the wholly unique things that ACH brings to the table. There is no one I have ever seen like him, and that's why he's got my number one vote this year.
The main knock against ACH is that he's all athletics and isn't as good at "the wrestles." I don't see how anyone who has watched a single minute of any of his matches can claim that. Is it mutually exclusive that a guy who can jump really high and do a bunch of flips in the air isn't good at psychology? I don't know, I watched the end of the first Iron Man match between he and AR Fox, saw him cling to a one-fall lead, and do everything he could to make sure Fox was not physically able to get a pinfall on him. He ran around the ring. He clutched the ropes. He broke out Inoki kicks and played the best round of keepaway that I've seen since I played it myself in the schoolyard. That was his best example. It wasn't his only one though.
But he doesn't sell, is the next cry. That's bullshit too. He doesn't do long term selling in a match. I'm not sure that's a requirement for good wrestling. If it was, then people wouldn't fawn over Davey Richards. I understand that the crowd that praises Richards and bashes ACH may not be remotely inclusive. But it ignores the fact that ACH not only sells in short bursts, but that he also bumps huge. He goes into guardrails. He lands hard on aprons. You don't need to hold your arm for 20 minutes to show that you're hurt. Everything that's major enough to the match at hand always resurfaces at some point.
But enough about heading off the haters at the pass. This isn't a referendum on ACH's flaws. It's an appreciation of him as a wrestler. The man has a magnetic personality. He knows how to lead the charge behind him, and once the support is behind him, he conducts those swells into crescendos, sometimes without even having to turn around and beckon their support. A true master in the ring doesn't have to lead his own chants all the time.
Look, if the only thing that was good about him was his freakish athletics and his ridiculously impressive moveset, he'd be Shelton Benjamin. Shelton Benjamin sucks. However, ACH is amazing, and when his freak-of-nature offense is factored into his entire portrait, it makes all the difference in the world. Anyone can do something insanely athletic and pop a crowd. Fuck, look at John Morrison or Kofi Kingston or even Jack Evans. They do crazy shit, and you remember the moment but not the guy giving you said moment. It takes someone with real talent to harness it and make it part of a sensible repertoire that builds matches rather than pops spots.
And that's not even getting into the fact that nearly every time he went out and wrestled in 2012, he was having either the best match on the card or somewhere close to that. Strangely enough, he was outshined most in Texas in ACW, but that's only because they stupidly put him in four-way matches where the focus was on Jaykus Plisken or Shawn Vexx. I like both those guys as wrestlers, but if they're in the same match as ACH, and they're the ones getting most of the attention, there's a problem. I'm not even talking about offense. Fuck that. ACH would take like a big bump to be out of sight, out of mind, and then Plisken would go on and work over someone else as if they were the ones jawing with him before the match and not ACH. I love ACW. They were my promotion of the year last year. But they weren't perfect, and for a point in the spring/early summer, they totally fucked up what you do with ACH.
What do you do with him though? You do what AIW did with him and put him out there against the best of the best. You do what Chikara did and put him all the way through to the Young Lions' Cup Finals. You do what St. Louis Anarchy did and have him go up against the guys who would go as far as the Arch but not be able to/not want to venture down south to Austin. You do what Metro Pro did and make ACH a centerpiece of their televised programming when he was able to make it to their tapings.
Now we venture into dangerous territory. So ACH only has to be pushed to the moon to be good? What if he were on WWE TV every week, having to get his shit handed to him by Ryback or whomever else he was tasked at making look good? Again, I don't buy that one bit, because I can't think of any wrestler who came out of a match with ACH who didn't look just as good afterwards at least. Whether it was Mat Fitchett in a match shot on a shitty fancam on YouTube or Tim Donst in a main event for a major show in AIW, whether it was a random tournament match to open a show against Willie Mack or a Championship match on the flagship event against Gary Jay, ACH put in the same effort, flashed the same personality, and wrestled equally as excellently.
People are waiting for him to grow and evolve. I think ACH has a lot of room to improve, and that's what makes him right now so impressive to me. He could become Bryan Danielson good. He could be the best of all-time. He could be the guy who makes wrestling boom again. All because he's unique in the ring, a genuine article, a man who breaks molds.
ACH is not the best at what he does. He's the only one who does what he does. That's why he's my best wrestler of 2012. As much wrestling as I watched… hell, as much GREAT wrestling as I have watched in the last year, I don't think it was even close. That's how good I thought he was.
Ryan Kilma: From Bissonette to Chikarason (not alphabetical, there are others), nearly every wrestling announcer I’ve heard call an ACH match has called him “a human video game.” He can do things only programmed avatars can dream of. With all due respect to the late THQ, who filled my life with a random assortment of wrestling video games, that is an insult to ACH. You can’t perform a second-rope 450 in Here Comes the Pain. It’s impossible to replicate “Ready or Not, Here I Come!” in a Create-Your-Own-Finisher engine. ACH has yet to burst into flames after hitting three consecutive big moves, but I wouldn’t put it past him. See, right there. ACH’s offense has become so other-worldly that it’s becoming difficult to describe him without dissolving into a puddle of hyperbole. In 2012, ACH was the second most interesting three-letter-word in wrestling, trailing only the company he helped put on the map with six-month old matches.
Alex Torres: ACH spread his special brand of Super Saiyan wrestling in ways no one else has duplicated, appearing on IPPVs for DGUSA, Chikara, CZW, and ROH in the calendar year. And he's still a young gun.
Jennifer Logsdon: I saw ACH for the first time in person at CHIKARA and then again at Insanity Pro. Attitude, Charisma, Heart. He has all three and more in spades. He's the future of wrestling and the future is NOW.
Lee Spriggs: I do sometimes worry that I'm taking ACH for granted. He may be the most gifted physical specimen out there (I think he and AR Fox can both lay claim to that title, which makes their AIW Iron Man matches so glorious) and he's only getting better in the ring. But he's so damn inventive: every match I think I've ever seen of his has something I've never seen him, let alone anyone else, do before. And he has personality to spare, able to go comedic for long stretches, as we saw in his matches against Mr. Touchdown in Chikara.
He's been everywhere lately, and I can't imagine that he'll be in the indies for long; every match of his that I watch feels like watching Pedro Martinez circa the turn of the century: you have the chance to see a masterpiece, but at the very least it's going to be awe-inspiring.
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| Steen dragging Eddie Kingston to his feet Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Points: 3190
Ballots: 38
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (Samantha Allen, Jerome Cusson)
Last Year's Placement: 18th Place
TH: Steen seems to be polarizing. Some hate him. Some say he only has good matches with Generico. Still others think everything he does is plated in gold. I'm somewhere in between all those places, but I tend to gravitate towards the superlatives. The guy is one of the most unique wrestlers on the scene, and it comes through in nearly every match.
I won't accuse Steen of being versatile. He very much works his style, and either you cheer him or you boo him. However, it's such a different style that I can forgive him for working with no alignment in mind (or at the very least as an amalgam of every Attitude Era anti-hero). In some ways, he's an impressionist wrestler in the same way Rocky has been described as such, but he's got a much better handle on how to organically get a crowd behind him. He's one of the few guys whose work remains consistent no matter what promotion or opponent he's in there against, and Steen in PWG is probably the purest form of him you'll find. It's also, not coincidentally, the best.
Alex Torres: The standard bearer for PWG and ROH. What else is there to say?
John Rosenberger: Yeah, yeah “He’s never had a good match that did involve Generico”. Guess what, I don’t really care about that. I find him entertaining, I like that he’s more than willing to interact with the crowd during matches and he gave my little cousin a weird look at Cibernetico Rises that he still talks about to this day. The Ladder War from Final Battle 2012 is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in person. We can talk all day about who was responsible for that but you know what? I think he deserves a bit more credit for how good it turned out than most people are giving him.
Shawn Duckett: Kevin Steen was one of the few bright spots in a lack luster year for ROH. Steen seemed develop into more of a brawler this past year, but he always delivered in the ring. He is the best trash talker in the business. Fans and opponents are always likely to get a verbal jab from Steen. The Ladder War with El Generico was the icing on the cake of a great year in ROH for Steen. Once again he put on superb matches in PWG. Kevin Steen put on a heck of a show in 2012 and I loved every minute of it.
Typical ROH Fan: Another dude who lit it up in both PWG and ROH. The ROH matches I enjoyed most were vs. Generico, Jacobs, Richards, Elgin, Rhino and Generico again. The PWG matches with Willie Mack, Generico (again), Edwards Edwards, Brian Cage and Adam Cole were my favorites over there. He had a really good one at Chikara too in the big multi team match. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. El Generico at ROH Showdown in the Sun)
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| del Rio working over Big Show's arm Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 3260
Ballots: 40
Highest Vote: 5th Place (Robot Hammer)
Last Year's Placement: 5th Place
TH: I know I put forth in the guidelines that booking really shouldn't play a role in how to rank certain wrestlers, but it's almost like when del Rio came back from his injury after Mania, he was put in an endless cycle of awful stories against Sheamus, ones that hurt him more than it hurt the other guy in the ring. Still, he had a fine year, as any time wrestlers the caliber of him and Sheamus tilting in the ring produces at least decent matches. He also dragged a decent series out of Randy Orton before reenergizing and turning babyface at the end of the year, showing he's actually better playing the good guy than he was working rudo.
Cewsh: The trouble with 2012 for Alberto Del Rio is that is wasn’t 2013 yet. He’s already made a strong case to be a top 10 guy in 2013, but 2012 had him still stuck in a rut as a directionless bad guy in boring feuds. But even so, Del Rio was nothing close to a slouch in the ring. His matches with Sheamus were so good that they gave us about 40 of them against everyone’s better judgment, and his overlooked feud with Orton carried Smackdown through some lean months. He’s better than his ranking probably suggests, but he’ll have to wait for next year.
Robot Hammer: Del Rio has become one of the WWE's most reliable in ring performers. His matches with Sheamus, while surrounded by questionable at best story lines, were always solid. And for what it's worth, I could watch his running corner enzuigiri, on loop, for hours.
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| Sheamus driving his shoulder into Daniel Bryan against the barricade Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Points: 3320
Ballots: 39
Highest Vote: 2nd Place (TH)
Last Year's Placement: 10th Place
TH: Sheamus was the best in-ring wrestler in WWE in 2012.
I say that fully acknowledging Daniel Bryan's existence as a WWE-contracted wrestler. I state this with cognizance of CM Punk, John Cena, Big Show, and Damien Sandow all having tremendous years. There is no one who put in the amount of work week-in and week-out that Sheamus did on a consistent basis. He had at least one match every week on TV, sometimes working double duty on RAW and Smackdown or Main Event. He always got time to work, WrestleMania excepted. Each time, he made the most of his minutes.
First thing's first, the man is a certified hoss who had no problems throwing his size around. Whether against smaller wrestlers or in HOSS FIGHTS against The Big Show, Sheamus asserted himself with the force and dominance befitting a WWE main event superstar. He could stand out here and chip away at Mount Rushmore with his bare hands, and believe me, standing across the ring from a motivated Show is akin to tilting giant stone faces, and I'd believe it.
The dichotomy, though, was that he also was one of the most believable men in the company at working vulnerable. He had a series of matches with Sandow that was absolutely made because Sheamus got his ass kicked. He wasn't taking empty beatings either. As someone getting lost in the moment of a match, there were several times when I felt like Sandow had him, that he was going to end up getting a win somehow, that he was being portrayed as the better man. That means something.
He was also in one of the WWE's three best matches of the year, the two-out-of-three falls match against Bryan at Extreme Rules, a match that was as much Sheamus as it was Bryan. The secret is that I thought that was Bryan's best performance in a WWE ring to date, one that hearkened back to his independent days. So what does that say of Sheamus that he answered the bell and went toe to toe with the American Dragon?
Cewsh: Thank god this is about in ring quality, and not out of ring, because in 2012 Sheamus may have been the most unlikable babyface on the planet. But in the ring, he grew from a meat and potatoes kind of big man, into one of the most exciting and dependable wrestlers in WWE. Somewhere around his feud with Daniel Bryan, he started showing an incredible about of ability, and a great understanding of how to bring drama into a match. He carried this through feuds with Alberto Del Rio and the Big Show that would have been incredibly hard to enjoy had the matches not been so damn good. He was one of the unsung heroes in wrestling in 2012, without a doubt.
Robot Hammer: Sheamus has better free televised matches than some wrestlers have pay per view matches. From the top of the roster and all the way down, he put in quality work with everyone he stepped in the ring with. His character can be grating at times, but judging on in ring performance alone, few match up to the Celtic bruiser.
Ryan Kilma: The stipulation that only “in-ring prowess” counts knocked UltraMantis Black off my list and kept Sheamus from hanging out with Drew Lucid and Zack Ryder at the bottom of my Barrell O’ Wrestlers. He really is one of the most impressive hosses I’ve ever seen in the ring and can have a believable slugfest with almost anyone. If I was Vince McMahon I’d send Sheamus on a pilgrimage across America to terrorize independent wrestling. I may never buy an ROH DVD; but if it has that match where Sheamus kicks the shit out of Roderick Strong for 45 minutes? I might take a look.
John Rosenberger: The fact that this is entirely focused on in-ring product and not character work outside of it is why the Celtic Warrior ranks so high on this list, or at all for that matter. He took some shots this year that had me legitimately concerned for his well-being and bounced back strong, while still making moves look effective, as opposed to a certain Jorts wearing fella’ who jumps right up after every move hit.
Mike Germano: Sheamus is the best big man the WWE has had in years. Nothing against Mark Henry, who was inactive much of the year, but since his arrival, Sheamus has consistently shown that he can have a great match where he gives as good as he takes. While I greatly enjoy his battles with Big Show, his versatility in being able to work with all sizes really showed in one of my favorite matches of the year, his 2 out of 3 falls match with Daniel Bryan. Based solely on in-ring work, Sheamus was clearly one of the best in 2012.
Dylan Hales: I don't have a wrestling blog because I'm a lazy ass. Well that's part of it. Another reason I don't have a wrestling blog is because I really like wrestling discussion, more than I like the idea of recording my own thoughts in a central place for people to look at and likely not comment on. To me the give and take is the best part and if I don't have it it's hard to stay motivated.
I mention this only because people who do know me and are familiar with the way I talk and write about wrestling, know that I am really big on "week-to-week" wrestlers. When it comes to a poll like this, I will always favor guys who have depth and quality tv performances, particularly if it's against a motley crew of characters. It's why I have always been the high voter for Rey Misterio in these things and it's why I have Sheamus so high on my ballot this year.
In 2012 Sheamus had more televised matches than anyone in the WWE and he made the most out of it. Yes his best bouts were on ppv (vs. Show and Bryan), but Sheamus was the guy that really stepped into the Rey role of "guy we know can have a good ten plus minute match vs. anyone on the roster regardless of placement on the card or whether or not they have an angle together." It was a role that I believe was tested with Dolph, who flopped with it. So instead Sheamus was given the ball and had the home run matches with guys like Sandow, Barrett and Tensai that no one else was having. He wasn't the best guy in wrestling in 2012, but he was the best guy wrestling on TV week-to-week.
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| Aries bloodying up Bully Ray something fierce Photo Credit: ImpactWrestling.com |
Points: 3455
Ballots: 38
Highest Vote:1st Place (Justin Daley, Jamie Girouard, Victor Rodgers)
Last Year's Placement: 11th Place
TH: A Double proved that you don't need to be tall to have shoulders broad enough to carry a televised wrestling company. He started out remodeling and renovating the X-Division, one that was left threadbare by the parent company and really abandoned after he traded in his X gold for the World Title. Between New Year's and Destination X, he turned in some of the strongest free TV performances, including a match in England with Mark Haskins and a nice feud with Bully Ray that flared up at various points. Obviously his high water mark came as TNA Champion with highly acclaimed PPV matches against Bobby Roode and even Jeff Hardy.
You could make a strong case that Aries was the most valuable wrestler in any company in 2012. I give the Impact roster a little more credit, but the guy turned in strong efforts whenever he was called upon to do so. Not a whole lot of wrestlers have stronger resumes on television, and that counts for a lot.
Cewsh: 2012 basically belonged to 3 men in TNA. Bobby Roode, James Storm and Austin Aries. And while Roode and Storm got to work with the best TNA had to offer, Austin Aries managed to stay on their level while wrestling Kid Kash and Jesse Sorenson. Add that to the fact that he had TNA’s match of the year against Bobby Roode at Destination X and managed to carry Jeff Hardy to his best match in years at Bound For Glory, and this guy deserves a pat on the back at the very least.
Dylan Hales: Austin Aries was number 5 on my ballot, but in a strange way he feels like the only guy I could conceivably accept as a true rival to my number one (Sami Callihan). It's hard to fully articulate why, but I'll give it a shot - In 2012 Austin Aries had a "career" year and did so in the worst promotion in the history of pro wrestling and in the process of doing so had multiple great matches in a promotion that very rarely even has good matches. I cannot stress enough how impressive it is to be able to say that you had a GREAT in ring year in TNA.
Aries had a great in ring year in TNA. He had two outstanding matches v. Bully Ray and two more v. Bobby Roode (and let me be the first to say that Roode is overrated as all hell and had no clue how to carry the heel control segment in the first match - that was all Aries). His unsanctioned "fight" with pre-unmasked Doc was really good. He actually got an excellent match out of Samoa Joe, a guy who has been completely unmotivated and virtually incapable of having even decent matches for the last five years. And while I thought the ladder match with Jeff Hardy was a bit disappointing, it was still a strong match, with a really good performance from Aries. On top of all this he had strong in ring performances as both a face and a heel, as both the "star" of an undercard division and an "underdog" in the "star" division and in straight matches and gimmicked brawls. He also has the best tope in wrestling (though criminally underrated, Aries lookalike Kyle Matthews is a close second). So even though I had Aries number five I may have underrated him a tad. In any event he was 2012's Mark Henry - a previously unappreciated and poorly utilized talent, who was given the ball and ran with it.
Typical ROH Fan: During the hot TNA stretch of great shows, Aries was right in the middle of it. Even during some of the weaker shows, his X Division title matches or rematch vs Jeff Hardy were the best thing on the shows. Similar to Bryan, his variety of opponents were also impressive. X Division dudes like Zema Ion and Kid Kash to main eventers like Bobby Roode, Hardy, Samoa Joe (yeah I may be stretching there) to bigger dudes with different styles like Bully Ray and Luke Gallows, he delivered all year long. (Favorite 2012 match: vs. Bobby Roode at Destination X)