Indy Power Rankings (@IndyPowerRankin) for the Week of May 11th, 2015

11:01 am May 15, 2015

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of May 11th, 2015

#1 Jigsaw (@JigsawWRESTLING)- Jigsaw came completely out of left field this week and absolutely crushed his competition in Europe last week. With wins vs. Marty Scurll at PWH on 5/6, then El Ligero at HOPE on 5/8, then Scott Star at IPW:UK on 5/10, and then Vinnie Kray at TAW on 5/10 as well, he went 4-0 on the week to enjoy his very first #1 ranking. Not only is it his first #1 ranking, it's his very first ranking as a singles competitor. It's very rare that an American competitor can tour Europe and do as well as Jigsaw, but it was clearly a very special week for him. Can he add some gold in the near future to go with his first-ever #1 ranking?

#2 Akira Tozawa (@TozawaAkira)- Just when you thought it was safe in the Indy Power Rankings Top 10…Akira Tozawa came crashing back in with both feet. It looked like Drew Galloway and/or Santana Garrett were gaining ground until this week when Tozawa got in after polishing off a flawless 5-0 week at Dragon Gate. Despite no fan support in the online voting competition, the Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate Champion (and Open the Owarai Gate Champion) teamed with Masato Yoshino at Dragon Gate on 5/4 to beat Gamma and Punch Tominaga, then defeated Dragon Kid on 5/5 to retain the title, then defeated Shingo Takagi on 5/8, then teamed with Masato Yoshino on 5/9 to beat Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! and Jimmy Kagetora) and then wrapped up the week when he teamed with BxB Hulk and Shingo Takagi on 5/10 to beat Jimmy Susumu, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito and Satoshi Kojima. Simply fantastic 2015 for Tozawa thus far.

#3 Jake Dirden (@DirdEYTV)- The Dynamo Pro Champion found his way back into the Top 10 after a bit of an absence. While he's been mentioned quite a few times in recent months, he's been unable to crack the Indy Power Rankings…until this week. This week was a change from his normal "solid" weeks as he went from solid to spectacular with wins vs. Everett Connors on 5/5 to retain the title, then beat Adam Raw at PWCS on 5/9 and then beat CJ Brady at Dynamo Pro on a non-title match to go 3-0 for the week. One of the most rugged, tough competitors in all of wrestling is on the hunt to reclaim his PGP Title from former #1 Blake Steel. Can he take back what he feels he should have never lost?

#4 Crusher Craib (@CrusherCraib)- It was quite an amazing weekend for this athlete from Aberdeen, Scotland. WrestleZone in Scotland was his playground for the week as he defeated Aspen Faith at WZ on 5/9, then the same day he teamed with William Sterling & Scotty Swift to defeat Mr Malice, Chris Archer & Mikkey Vago, then defeated Mikkey Vago, then defeated Mr Malice & Aspen Faith in a triple threat, and then won a battle royal to go 5-0 for the week. With 9 straight victories, he EARNED his high ranking this week. In fact, he even garnered enough support to get a nod for the #1 spot from one of the official voters. Let's see what he can do the rest of 2015.

#5 Masato Yoshino- Dragon Gate produces two very high rankings this week as Yoshino grabs the 2nd high ranking for the Japanese-based promotion. Much like Tozawa, Yoshino (1/2 of the Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Champions) dominated the week with a 5-0 record. He teamed with Akira Tozawa on 5/4 to defeat Gamma and Punch Tominaga at Dragon Gate, then teamed with Shachihoko BOY on 5/5 to beat Masaaki Mochizuki and Big R Shimizu to retain the titles, then teamed with Shachihoko BOY on 5/8 to beat Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! and Jimmy Kanda) then teamed with Akira Tozawa on 5/9 to beat Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! and Jimmy Kagetora, and then defeated Dragon Kid on 5/10. Yoshino is on fire right now.

#6 Daisuke Sasaki- Great week for Sasaki as he enters the Top 10 for the very first time. He teamed with Kota Ibushi at DDT on 5/4 to beat Danshoku Dino and Makoto Oishi, then teamed with Kota Ibushi and Suguru Miyatake on 5/5 to beat Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie and Soma Takao, then defeated Ryota Nakatsu on 5/6, and then defeated Konosuke Takeshita by countout at DDT on 5/10 to go 4-0 for the week. On a very competitive week, it was very impressive for Sasaki to enter the Top 10 for the very first time. If he can continue this success and perhaps add some gold to his collection, he'll most definitely be a contender for months to come.

#7 Abdullah Kobayashi- He is the NEW Big Japan Death Match Heavyweight Champion after he defeated Yuko Miyamoto on 5/5 to win the title, then teamed with Ryuji Ito on 5/9 to defeat B Faultless Junky’s (Jaki Numazawa & Masashi Takeda) in a fluorescent light tubes death match;, and then teamed with Ryuji Ito and “Kokutenshi” Jaki Numazawa at BJW on 5/10 to defeat Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka and Masaya Takahashi to go 3-0 for the week. It's his first ranking and with the success he found last week, it likely will not be his last in 2015. Look out for him as the year continues.

#8 Pete Dunne (@DynamiteDunne)- The UK gets some representation this week as the Attack! 24-7 Champion (and PWK Champion) teamed with Damian Dunne at FCP on 5/8 to beat Morgan Webster & Robbie X, then defeated Flash Morgan Webster at Attack! on 5/9 to retain the title, and then defeated Tyler Bate at SWE on 5/10 to go 3-0 for the week. It was a VERY difficult week to rank, but "Dynamite" comes away with his first ranking in 2015 after a very solid 2014. Will this be the year that he continues to make the push as one of the top stars in the UK? It's very likely!

#9 AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg)- It's very rare that you see AJ Styles in the Indy Power Rankings Top 10 and it's certainly not because he hasn't been successful this year. It's actually because he's so active with New Japan and ROH that he's usually not eligible for this list. That being said, over the weekend the IWGP & FWE Heavyweight Champion defeated Jimmy Rave at PSW on 5/8 and then beat Chase Owens at NWA Smoky Mountain on 5/9 to go 2-0 for the week. One of the best in the world is undefeated in his last 11 matches with 10 wins and a draw on the indies.

#10 Jason Kincaid (@GiftKincaid)- The NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion returns to the Top 10 once again as he defeated a huge star in wrestling in John Morrison at NWA Smoky Mountain on 5/9 to retain the title. He then defeated Andrew Palace and Benny Conley at APWA on 5/10 to go 2-0 for the week. Kincaid was ranked #23 in the 2014 IPR 100 (the number he called the Michael Jordan number) and he's well on his way to moving up the ladder again for the 2015 IPR 100. No one in West Virginia (or TN) has been as successful in the last few years as him. As stated before, it's a shame he's not on TV every single week.

People's Champ. Lightning Bolt Johnson- This is his 3 ^rd "People's Champ" award as he came from well behind to topple Iceman for the victory in the online voting competition. With 140 votes, he was able to edge out Iceman (based out of Israel) who garnered 107 votes. After a 2-0 weekend, Lightning Bolt Johnson is well on his way to another phenomenal year in wrestling in the Midwest.

Others missing out/receiving votes:

Rickey Shane Page

Minoru Suzuki

Minoru Tanaka

Kotaro Yoshino

Santana Garrett

Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Cherry Bomb

Rude Boy Riley

Iceman

Trevor Lee

Mattick

Kyoko Kimura

Yuji Okabayashi

Brodie Marshall

Blk Jeez

JD Mariani

Thirteen

Rob Fury

James Castle

Mr. 450

Kayoko Haruyama

Takashi Sasaki

Vordell Walker

Scotty Swift

Aja Kong

John Klinger

Mike McCarthy

Sammi Jayne

Mike Maze

Blake Mitchell

Seleziya Sparx

Damo O’Connor

Russ Jones

Kameron Kade

Maximo Suave

Seiki Yoshioka

Sha Samuels

Eddie Diamond

Tommy Angel

King John E. Radic

Chad Howard

Tama Tonga

Bushwhacker Luke

Short Sleeve Sampson

Kamikaze

MK McKinnan

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