Ontario Wrestling's Indy Elite

OWIE's Ontario Indy Rankings / Month in Review

DECEMBER 2011

As compiled and authored by OWIE founder and senior editor

Gordo, the wizard of id

The opinions expressed in the following article are those of its author, Gordo, the wizard of id. They do not necessarly reflect the opinions of other OWIE team members, contributors, advertisers, spiritual advisors or anyone else.

A BRIEF FORWARD

This final Month in Review of 2011 is different from the previous 6 editions in that it's actually being presented in a timely fashion. It's Jan 7th as I post it. These 2011 monthly capsules have prepared me for the year to come. I think I have all the bugs worked out and I'm satisfied the data assimilation processes I've developed will enable me to provide 2012 Monthly Reviews in a timely manner every time.

My data collection process remains the same... searching, digging, pleading and begging for show results. As always, the more help I get with that the better. PLEASE send show results to me at owienews@hotmail.com Workers and fans! (And, if you see posted results lacking in relevant details, let me know about it.) The more info that gets to me means more info goes into these Month in Review articles and thus...
more information about Ontario indy wrestling is given to OWIE readers...

and there's a lot of readers
and they don't come to OWIE for me
They come to learn about Ontario indy wrestling

To that end,
If you'd like to take a look at last month's (abbreviated) rankings go here

If you're already up to speed or this month is all that matters here is...

DECEMBER 2011... THE MONTH THAT WAS

There were 14 Ontario indy shows announced/advertised for Dec 2011.
Of those 14 events 12 were actually presented
They were:

Dec 2, CWA "Christmas Collision", Cornwall
Dec 3, GCW "Beyond the Limit '11", Port Perry
Dec 3, NSP "Darkest Days", Niagara Falls
Dec 4, TWA "Adrenaline", St Catharines
Dec 4, GCW "The Fight B4 Christmas" Brantford
Dec 4, CCW (Debut Strathroy Show) Strathroy
Dec 4, CWI/MCW "Season of Giving" Brantford
Dec 10, OCW "Survival" Kingston
Dec 10, Mecca Pro "Tis The Season To Be Beaten" Cornwall
Dec 11, TWA "Christmas Chaos" St Catharines
Dec 17, RE/BTPW "Evolution" Ottawa
Dec 27, GCW "Seasons Beatings" Oshawa

The 2 shows that didn't happen were:

GCW "Cold Snap" - Dec 2, Oshawa
nRw "Seasons Beatings" - Dec 11 Wyebridge

That means, in December of 2011 at least, when an Ontario indy wrestling show was announced...
there was a better than 85% chance it would actually occur!
(There could be some room for improvement there, no?)

In total there were 87 matches this month...
- 82 of them ended by pinfall or submission
- there was 1 Double Count-out
- 2 ended in DQ's
- 1 was a Forfeit
- 1 went to a No-Contest
- There were no Time Limit Draws
- 2 men shared 1 victory in a 3-way match (both pinned the 3rd)
- with the exception of 3 3-Way matches, 1 2-on-1 Handicap and 1 6-Man Tag all the month's bouts were traditional 1-on-1 Singles or 2-on-2 Tags

Attached Stipulations Included:
- "No DQ" (3)
- "Loser Leaves" (In this case, the promotion)
- "Fans Bring The Weapons"
- "#1 Contender" (3)
- "No DQ, Anything Goes, Falls Count Anywhere"
- and the simple, but traditional "Grudge Match"

There were also 2 variations of another time-honored match type... The Lumberjack Match
But these weren't traditional Lumberjack matches where the ring was surrounded by other wrestlers
These were different...

- At GCW for the WILD title match between champion Gabriella Vanderpool and Kaitlin Diamond the LumberJACK match became a LumberJILL match, the ring was surrounded by Rollery Derby team, the Belle City Roller Girls

- The Lumberjack match that saw V:I:P defend the Mecca Pro tag titles against the uber-popular Hartbreakers in Cornwall had fans as lumberjacks! Quite possibly the single scariest match stipulation of the year. Fortunately, nobody died, or got shanked, or sued.

133 wrestlers appeared at Ontario events in December
- 121 men
- 12 women
Plus:
- 5 managers (excludes active wrestlers who acted as managers)
- 2 commissioners/general managers

Random Number Crunch:

133 wrestlers in 87 matches on 14 shows makes an average of 33 wrestlers appearing in 6 matches on a show which matters not one bit so...

To get on with it then...

Some December 2011 Ontario Indy Wrestling Event Posters

DECEMBER 2011 ONTARIO INDY WRESTLING TITLE CHANGES

Dec 2011 saw 9 championship changes.

Singles:

NSP Independent Championship:
Primo Scordino def Derek Wylde to win the title Dec 3, NSP "Darkest Days", Niagara Falls

OCW Heavyweight Championship:
CJ Felony def Harley Davison to win title Dec 10, OCW "Survival" Kingston

TWA North American Championship: (3x)
1. Co-Champions EZE & Robbie Reckless stripped of belts (Reckless out sick) Title declared Vacant Dec 4, TWA "Adrenaline", St Catharines
2. Tournament Final: Ruin def Kwan Chang to win vacant title Dec 11, TWA "Christmas Chaos" St Catharines
3. EZE def Ruin to win the title Dec 11, TWA "Christmas Chaos" St Catharines

TWA Heavyweight Championship:
EZE def Kryss Thorn to win the title Dec 11, TWA "Christmas Chaos" St Catharines

Tag:

GCW-NS Tag Team Championship:
The Hillbullies def Johnny Wave & Robbie MacAllister to win vacant titles Dec 3, GCW "Beyond the Limit '11", Port Perry

TWA Tag Team Championship:
2-on-1 Handicap Match: Frankie Valentine & Jesse Bieber def Kryss Thorn to win titles Dec 4, TWA "Adrenaline", St Catharines

OCW Tag Team Championship:
Hangman & Derric Hamilton def Taylor & Cash to win the titles Dec 10, OCW "Survival" Kingston

CHAMPIONSHIP CHANGES RAMBLINGS

Some long reigning champions fell this month...

Derek Wylde has held the NSP title since its inception. His most recent challenges have come from NSP owner Tiberious King but Wylde conclusively ended that feud last month. The man who beat Wylde for the top NSP belt, Primo Scordino, recently wore NSP tag gold but lost that belt and his partner, Tony "Stickball" Carbonie in a brutal feud with Anthony Darko & Jake O'Reilly, The Piss Beaters. Scordino's first foray in the NSP singles ranks brought him the promotions top belt. It remains to be see whether the popular Italian star can keep the strap.

Harley Davison has successfully defend the OCW Heavyweight title against a number of challengers but couldn't defeat CJ Felony and a crooked referee in the main event of OCW "Survival". Commissioner Jan Murphy declared himself the bout's Special Referee and turned against Davison during the match allowing CJ Felony to snare the OCW heavyweight belt in the sketchiest title change of the month.

All the other singles title changes (except 1) revolved around one belt, TWA's secondary strap, the North American Championship. Going into December EZE (Eric Cairnie) and Robbie Reckless were Co-Champions. Back in Oct at "Halloween Hell" EZE challenged Reckless for the belt in a Ladder Match. The ensuing shenanigans at the finish of that match had both men laying claim to the belt. The TWA Commissioner ruled them Co-Champions and both would defend the title. That confusing arangement lasted until the Dec 4th TWA event (for the record, EZE defended the belt more than Reckless leading up to this month.) Reckless was hospitalized with illness and couldn't wrestle. EZE decided that made him the sole North American Champion and proposed a tournament be held to find him a suitable challenger. TWA elected instead to strip him and Reckless of the belt and hold a tournament to decide a new champion. That was change #1.

EZE entered the tournament but was eliminated in the 1st round thanks to interference by TWA Heavyweight champ Kryss Thorn. Ruin, who wasn't even in the tournament originally, defeated Kwan Chang in the final on Dec 11th to win the title. (change #2) For some inexplicable reason, immediately after winning the belt, Ruin offered EZE a title shot since he'd seen how the former co-champ had been "screwed around". EZE accepted the match and defeated Ruin to win the belt (change #3)

So... EZE started the month as TWA North American co-champion and ended it the sole champion, thanks in part to Ruin who has an awful lot to learn about this business. (By the way, Ruin got the spot in the final after Randy Vahn pulled out with an injury.)

Later that same night, EZE defeated Kryss Thorn for the TWA Heavyweight belt and ended the year a double TWA champion.

Thorn's luck wasn't good at all in December. He also single-handedly lost the TWA Tag Team Championship in a 2-on-1 Handicap match against Dance Mix Revolution (Frankie Valentine & Jesse Bieber) giving his long-time Canadian Extreme partner, CK Sexx, the dubious distinction of former champ who lost his belt without even being in the building, let alone the match. (To his credit, Thorn did make one successful defense of the TWA strap before dropping it to EZE and when he lost the tag belts it was in large part because EZE ran out and superkicked him in the head.)

In other tag title developments, the new tandem of Cousin Eddie (Osbourne) and Hardkore Hick (Jeff Black) as the HillBullies claimed the vacant GCW-NS Tag Team Championship. Hopefully they can elevate the status of that title since most people forgot it even existed (if they ever knew at all)

Taylor & Cash, arguably the most dominant Ontario team of the last 6 months dropped the OCW Tag straps to Hangman & Derric Hamilton in what many considered an upset. Upset or not, the title change was not without controversy as Cecil Nyx played a huge role in the outcome of the match by helping his new stablemates defeat the reigning champs and seize the belts in one of Ontario's most hotly contested tag divisions.

EZE Eric Cairnie a double TWA champ

lt-rt: Hangman, Cecil Nyx, Derric Hamilton

DECEMBER 2011 SUCCESSFUL TITLE DEFENSES

19 championship matches ended with the Champs keeping their belts

Singles:

CWA Heavyweight Championship:
Jeremy Barnoff (C) def CK Sexx to retain Dec 2, CWA "Christmas Collision", Cornwall

TWA Heavyweight Championship:
Kryss Thorn def Chad Williams to retain Dec 4, TWA "Adrenaline", St Catharines

CCW Lancashire Cup:
Cezar def Sgt Dickson to retain Dec 4, CCW (Debut Strathroy Show) Strathroy

CCW Heavyweight Championship:
Daemon Reznor def Freak Show to retain Dec 4, CCW (Debut Strathroy Show) Strathroy

GCW Brass Knuckles Championship: (3x)
1. Buck Gunderson def Harley Davison to retain Dec 3, GCW "Beyond the Limit '11", Port Perry
2. Buck Gunderson def Zaction Pact w/D-man to retain Dec 4, GCW "The Fight B4 Christmas" Brantford
3. No DQ, Anything Goes, Falls Count Anywhere Match: Buck Gunderson def Tomer Shalom w/ Elias Gold to retain Dec 27 GCW "Seasons Beatings" Oshawa

MCW Heavyweight Championship:
Johnny Wave def Rip Impact to retain Dec 4, CWI/MCW "Season of Giving" Brantford

OCW TV Cogeco Championship:
Adam Keaton def Cecil Nyx to retain Dec 10, OCW "Survival" Kingston

OCW Cruiserweight Championship:
Chaz Lovely def Rip Impact to retain Dec 10, OCW "Survival" Kingston

MPW Heavyweight Championship:
Fans Bring The Weapons: Frank Couture def Canadian Justice to retain Dec 10, Mecca Pro "Tis The Season To Be Beaten" Cornwall

Women's:

GCW W.I.L.D. Championship: (2x)
1. Gabriella Vanderpool def Jodi D'Milo to retain Dec 3, GCW "Beyond the Limit '11", Port Perry
2. Lumberjills Match: Gabriella Vanderpool def Kaitlin Diamond to retain Dec 4, GCW "The Fight B4 Christmas" Brantford

CCW Ladies Championship:
Cherry Bomb w/ Derek Wylde def Ianna Titus to retain Dec 4, CCW (Debut Strathroy Show) Strathroy

MCW Women's Championship:
Seleziya Sparx def Courtney Rush to retain Dec 4, CWI/MCW "Season of Giving" Brantford

TWA Women's Championship:
Kaitlin Diemond def Olivia Skyler to retain Dec 11, TWA "Christmas Chaos" St Catharines

Tag:

NSP Tag Team Championship:
The Piss Beaters def Brad Martin & Phil Atlas to retain Dec 3, NSP "Darkest Days", Niagara Falls

MPW Tag Team Championship:
Fan Lumberjack Match: V:I:P def The Hartbreakers to retain Dec 10, Mecca Pro "Tis The Season To Be Beaten" Cornwall

TWA Tag Team Championship:
Dance Mix Revolution def Youth Gone Wylde to retain Dec 11, TWA "Christmas Chaos" St Catharines

CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSES RAMBLINGS

Kudos to the Ontario Champions who successfully defended their titles in Dec.

Special mention goes to Gabriella Vanderpool who twice retained her GCW WILD title and Buck Gunderson who kept his GCW Brass Knuckles belt from 3 challengers this month.

Vanderpool's still very much a newcomer to the game so keeping the WILD belt against top quality opposition in the form of Jodi D'Milo and Kaitlin Diemond, two of the straight-up toughest women on the circuit, is definitely an achievement worth noting.

Equally deserving of mention was Gunderson's three-peat of Brass Knuckles title defenses. This secondary GCW title hasn't been considered as much more than mid-card bling since its inception but around Buck's waist the belt is finally gaining some credibility and worth. It's a perfect example of a champion elevating a title instead of the other way around. Did anybody really notice (or care) when Buck claimed the vacant (read: ignored) Brass Knuckles belt? Thanks to his efforts and willingness to be a legit fighting champion Gunderson has made the title a much sought after prize. The longer his reign, the more the title will be worth and because of that, the next time the GCW Brass Knucks title changes hands it will be a story of some consequence.

However, Buck may have that belt for awhile longer yet. The "No DQ" style of Brass Knuckle title defenses lends itself perfectly to Gunderson's unorthadox brawling and he's shown himself to be a very dominant champion indeed. Just ask Harley Davison, Zaction Pact and Tomer Shalom.

The Basics:

• There are three Wrestler ranking catagories: Men's Singles, Women's Singles and Tag Teams
• Rankings lists will be "Top 20 Men", "Top 10 Women" and "Top 10 Tag Teams"
• Only Ontario based feds are included - this means Ring Of Honor is NOT included, even if they run an Ontario show
• Obviously, the WWE and TNA (or Impact or whatever the hell they're calling it these days) are also excluded
• I can only evaluate and rank what I know about. If I don't have show results the wrestlers on those missing shows have zero chance of their accomplishments being included for consideration
• The Rankings cover only the time period of the month being ranked
• There will be no division between "local" Ontario wrestlers and others from elsewhere, "Superstars", "Legends" or scrubs. If they wrestle in Ontario indy they are eligible for ranking but only on their Ontario accomplishments
• Likewise, Ontario based wrestlers will only be ranked on their Ontario matches & influence. Out of province stuff will be ignored (but may still be referenced or mentioned)
• These are wrestler rankings, NOT worker rankings!

Some More December 2011 Ontario Indy Wrestling Event Posters

Gordo's Ranking Methodology
In an effort to avoid my head exploding trying to devise and follow some type of formula that would ultimately lead to uncontestable ranking orders that would accurately reflect the "kayfabe reality" of the various OIW promotions and the overall Ontario indy wrestling scene, I decided instead to study the Month's known results and consider each wrestler's win/loss record and where that result (and effort) reflects on that wrestler's place in the overall heirarchy of talent available to Ontario promoters. That placement and how their successes this month measure up to it are determined by considering a number of factors including (but not limited to,) technical skill, past career achievement, promotion storyline, quality of opposition, angle relevance, match importance, card placement, stipulations, short term growth/momentum (vs long term established paterns), championships, other appearances (promos, run-ins etc) and fan reaction. Also taken into consideration when ranking each wrestler was the number of matches - someone wrestling in high profile spots on multiple shows against a variety of high calibre opponents brings a lot more to consider than a Heavyweight Champion who successfully defended his belt in the only match he wrestled this month can bring.

In other words... this is mostly a subjective exercise where I use my knowledge of the Ontario scene and 40+ years of observation and study of the game to assess the wrestlers, their matches, and impact of same to the promotion (creatively in the "kayfabe reality" of that fed's product) and what, if anything, that means to the overall "kayfabe reality" of the Ontario scene.

And that's how I came up with the rankings to follow (fully expecting that a whole lot of people probably won't agree with me.)

Here then, are the OWIE December 2011 Ontario Indy Pro Wrestling Rankings...

DECEMBER 2011 TOP 10 WOMEN
(Numbers in parentheses are last Month's ranking. NL = Not Listed)

1. Gabriella Vanderpool (NL)
After a period of inactivity Vanderpool returned to the Ontario mat wars and earned the Dec #1 spot with two decisive defenses of her GCW W.I.L.D. championship, first over Jodi D'Milo at "Beyond the Limit '11" in Port Perry and then Kaitlin Diemond in a featured "Lumberjill Match" at "The Fight B4 Christmas" in Brantford.

2. Seleziya Sparx (8)
"The Sass Queen" continued her high profile run (and climbed back up the Top 10) in Dec by retaining her MCW title over Courtney Rush in a match lauded by critics and appearing in the last match of the year, a main event Intergender Tag Match that saw her team with Brent B to defeat TNA Knockout Angelina Love & former WWE star Shawn Spears.

3. Jodi D'Milo (1)
"Mawmi Tsunami" pushed GCW W.I.L.D. champ Gabriella Vanderpool to the limit in the semi-main of "Beyond The Limit '11" and defeated Xandra Bale at OCW's "Survival" in a bout many called the Woman's Match of the Year.

4. Courtney Rush (3)
"The Suplex Machine" was a major roadblock for Leah Von Dutch, handing the hot young rookie a tough loss at NSP's "Darkest Days" event in Niagara Falls but was shocked when she was fired moments later by new NSP GM Derek Wylde. Failed to regain the MCW belt from Seleziya Sparx.

5. Angelina Love (NL)
The TNA Knockout was unsuccessful in her Intergender Tag with Shawn Spears against Seleziya Sparx & Brent B but her undeniably strong intangibles and mainstream media attention getting status put Love squarely in the middle of December's Top 10.

6. Cherry Bomb (2)
A successful CCW title defense over rookie Ianna Titus was Bomb's sole in-ring appearance this month (Cherry inexplicably no-showed GCW "Seasons Beatings") Remained visible by managing Derek Wylde in the main event of CCW's Strathroy show, maybe as thanks for him firing long-time foe Courtney Rush from Neo at "Darkest Days"

7. Xandra Bale (4)
"The Suicide Blond" dropped a tough decision to Jodi D'Milo in a Match of the Year contender at OCW "Survival" but that loss did little to tarnish her debut at that promotion. Bale's sporadic Ontario appearances are all that keep this uber-talented competitor from dominating these rankings.

8. Leah Von Dutch (10)
Aside from one Neo match with Cody Deaner, Von Dutch made no ringside managing appearances in December, further indication her in-ring wrestling career remains her primary focus. Defeated by Courtney Rush at "Darkest Days" but got a big win over Evilyn in the semi-main of CCW's Strathroy show, a win that made Von Dutch the #1 Contender to Cherry Bomb's CCW championship.

9. Kaitlin Diemond (6)
"The Anti Diva" already holds the TWA and GWN belts but her bid for a 3rd fell short when GCW W.I.L.D. champ Gabriella Vanderpool defeated her in a Lumberjill Match. Diemond ended the year on a positive note, successfully defending her TWA belt against newcomer Olivia Skyler at "Christmas Chaos".

10. Evilyn (NL)
December was a slim month which helped a slumping Evilyn make it into the number #10 spot, more on the strength of her proven record and strong intangibles than a loss to rookie Leah Von Dutch in Evilyn's only match of the month. Still, it was a semi-main event and that counts for something too.

2011 AGGREGATE RANKINGS- WOMEN: (Since June 2011)
Aggregate Rankings are determined by assigning a numerical value to each Monthly Ranking position. #1=10 points, #2=9pts, #3=8pts and so on down with a #10 Monthly ranking earning 1 point. Each month's point score is added to subsequent Monthly Ranking placement scores to determine a person's overall Aggregate Ranking. While monthly rankings reflect specifically the events of single months the Aggregate Rankings should help identify major players of influence over the long term...

Consider these the 2011 Year End Rankings
The point totals will not carry over into next year.
Everyone starts January 2012 with Zero points.

60. Cherry Bomb
58. Courtney Rush
45. Seleziya Sparx
33. Jodi D'Milo
27. Xandra Bale
25. Gabriella Vanderpool
21. Kaitlin Diemond
19. Portia Perez
14. Persephone Vice
9.
-ODB
-Cheerleader Melissa
-Holly Hilton
8. Evilyn
7. Allysin Kay

6.
-Angelina Love
-Leah Von Dutch
-Addy Starr
-Jewels Malone
4. She Nay Nay
3.
-Traci Brooks
-Brittany Force
2.
-Sabrina Kyle
-Thirsty Domino
-Topher Whiteman
1. "Brutal Barb"

Random Thought:

Seeing more newcomers to the Ontario women's wrestling scene is very cool. Rookies like Leah Von Dutch, Jewells Malone, Seleziya Sparx and others are a needed addition to the scene because women's wrestling has a higher percentage of talent loss than the men's scene. The influx of female rookies doesn't hide the fact Ontario's women's pro wrestling scene has been a leaky boat for years.

One doesn't have to flip back through past results for long to see names that are no longer on the scene, or wrestling so seldom they maybe appear once or twice a year... Names like Cat Power, Kelly Couture, Danyah, Krystal Banks, 2011 Rookie of the Year Nikita and the list goes on (Who doesn't miss Tiana Ringer?)

Compounding the effects of that talent loss is seeing what proven talent we have remaining even less than we did before. Cherry Bomb, Courtney Rush, Xandra Bale, Jodi D'Milo... as the world discovers how great "our girls" are we have been forced to share them with fans elsewhere. Every appearance by an Ontario talent in Shimmer, Femmes Fatales, other shows in other provinces and countries, while great for that wrestler is another loss for Ontario fans who have fewer opportunity to see those top women perform here.

So we should be sure to support them when we do have a chance to see Ontario women on the indy wrestling scene, our stars and our promising newcomers. They've earned it. They deserve it. Support your local women pro wrestlers. Make some noise!

DECEMBER 2011 TOP 10 TAG TEAMS
(Numbers in parentheses are last Month's ranking. NL = Not Listed)

1. The Flatliners - Asylum & Matt Burns (NL)
Arguably the most successful and highly regarded Ontario tag team of the last 10 years, Burns and Asylum haven't been seen much in 2011. That doesn't mean they've missed a step as they proved at the highly anticipated CWI/MCW co-promoted "Season of Giving" in Brantford. First making their presence felt during fellow Mutiny faction teammate Guillotine Graham's match with Scottie Too Hotty, Burns and Asylum went on to own the show's main event with a win over The Hartbreakers and their famous megaphone carrying manager.

2. V.I.P - Randy Berry & MTH (NL)
Eastern Ontario's most notorious faction (which includes MPW champ Frank Couture) remains at the center of a number of heated feuds and title pictures in Mecca Pro, CWA and CGPW. By themselves Randy Berry & MTH have placed in the Top 10 on multiple occasions, no small feat in the crowded Ontario tag scene. V.I.P. scores high across the board and their MPW title defense victory over the Hartbreakers in a FAN Lumberjack Match at "Tis The Season To Be Beaten" was a "Match of the Year contender", "a major accomplishment" - and this from fans who hate these guys!

3. The Incredible Hunks - Deeno & Cheeky (NL)
Energetic, exuberant and exciting, the irrepressible "Hunksters" are approaching veteran status as one of Ontario's longest running teams. Often out-sized & out-weighed by their opponents, Deeno & Cheeky still get the job done, as they did in December with wins over Sebastian Suave & Alex vega in CWA's "Christmas Collision" semi-main and Shocker & Jae Rukin at Mecca Pro's "Tis The Season To Be Beaten". That win earned them the #1 Contenders spot and going into 2012 the Incredible Hunks have their eyes on V.I.P.'s tag team gold.

4. The HillBullies - Cousin Eddie & Hardkore Hick (NL)
The team may be new but Cousin Eddie & Hardkore Hick are no strangers to Ontario fans but they're perhaps known better by their real names, Eddie Osbourne & Jeff Black, respectively. As the HillBullies Eddie & Hick found their redneck roots and adopted a down-home scufflin' style which brought them immediate success. They claimed the vacant GCW-NS titles with a win over Johnny Wave & Robbie MacAllister on the 3rd and the next day brawled to a DQ loss against Reggie Marley & Rhino in the main event of "The Fight Before Christmas". (Oh, and they beat up Hayden Avery too.)

5. The Piss Beaters - Jake O'Reilly & Anthony Darko (NL)
Having beaten and disposed of former NSP champs The Italianos, O'Reilly & Darko solidified their hold on the gold at NSP's "Darkest Days" with a win over Brad Martin & Phil Atlas. If you don't think that was a BIG statement-making win, you haven't done your homework. Brad Martin is one of the best mat-based masters of the sweet science in Ontario and Phil Atlas? He's just one of the best wrestlers in the world, been fighting in All Japan most of year. So yea, a win against those two guys is a statement alright. One that says The Piss Beaters are the real deal.

6. Hangman & Derric Hamilton (NL)
Had Derric Hamilton & Hangman won the OCW titles from any lesser team than Taylor & Cash they wouldn't have ranked this high. Unseating the long reigning T&C was a major accomplishment for a relatively new tandem. But then, they had help in the form of stablemate Cecil Nyx. Still, even skullduggery, when it's successful, earns a certain degree of cred for a hand well played. Hangman & Hamilton have certainly ended the year with a bang but it remains to be seen if they can remain on top of the OCW tag division. Even with the help of Cecil Nyx, that won't be easy.

7. The Hartbreakers - Mike Hart & Joey Valentyne (7)
As win/loss records go, the Hartbreakers didn't exactly fare well this month, they had two matches and lost them both. Where Hart & Valentyne scored high was in other factors like quality of opposition, match importance, card placement and other intangibles, not the least of which was fan reaction. The Hartbreakers faced The Flatliners in the CWI/MCW "Season of Giving" main event (with "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart in their corner) and brawled with V.I.P in a semi-main event Fan Lumberjack Match at Mecca Pro's "Tis The Season To Be Beaten". Win or lose, that's some high profile stuff.

8. Dance Mix Revolution - Frankie Valentine & Jesse Bieber (NL)
TWA has probably the most crowded roster in Ontario but the TWA tag ranks have been thinning thanks to the domination (and shenanigans, legal and not) of long time champs Canadian Extreme. Valentine & Bieber, having limited to minor success in the singles divisions, saw an opportunity and tagged up to take it. They got lucky when Kryss Thorn was ordered to defend the belts even though his partner CK Sexx wasn't at the Dec 4th Adrenaline show. Thanks to some interference by EZE, Bieber & Valentie snagged the TWA tag championship. As the newly christened Dance Mix Revolution they defended the titles against Youth Gone Wylde at "Christmas Chaos".

9. Rhino & Reggie Marley (NL)
With a lot of established teams inactive this month this first ever pairing by two veteran performers checks in the #9 spot with a main event DQ-win over The HillBullies at "The Fight B4 Christmas" complimenting their undeniably strong intangibles. "Big Ticket" Reggie Marley is the reigning PWA Pure Wrestling Champion and a veteran of numerous successful teams, most notably The R&R Express with Ruffy Silverstein. Rhino is of course the world famous "War Machine" (he of the "Gore! Gore! Gore!") a veteran of ECW, WWE, TNA, New Japan, ROH, JCW...

10. Taylor & Cash (3)
The former OCW champions have been among the most consistant tandems in Ontario placing in the Top 10 six times in the past seven months. The reigned over one of the toughest tag divisions in the province since March of this year, finally losing the belts in December to Hangman & Derric Hamilton at "Survival" (thanks to outside inteference from Cecil Nyx) The question going into 2012 is: Where do Taylor & Cash go from here? While many are hoping they stay together and regain the belts it remains to be seen whether Taylor & Cash will continue to team.

2011 AGGREGATE RANKINGS- TAG TEAMS: (Since June 2011)
Aggregate Rankings are determined by assigning a numerical value to each Monthly Ranking position. #1=10 points, #2=9pts, #3=8pts and so on down with a #10 Monthly ranking earning 1 point. Each month's point score is added to subsequent Monthly Ranking placement scores to determine a team's overall Aggregate Ranking. While monthly rankings reflect specifically the events of single months the Aggregate Rankings should help identify major players of influence over the long term...

Consider these the 2011 Year End Rankings
The point totals will not carry over into next year.
Everyone starts January 2012 with Zero points.

32. Gym Rats 2.0
30. Taylor & Cash
29.
-Piss Beaters
-Hollywood Hunks
-Canadian Extreme
25. V.I.P.
19. Hartbreakers
17. Italianos
12. Incredible Hunks
11. Checkmate
10.
-Flatliners
-Mutiny
-KILLDOZER
9.
-Nasty Boys
-Empire
8. Kevin Steen & Mike Bailey
7.
-HillBullies
-Big Money Titans
-Entourage

6.
-T'N'T
-Power & Fame
-D-X
-Aftershock
5.
-Hangman & Derric Hamilton
-Screaming Egos
-DTF
-Super Smash Brothers
4.
-Cody Deaner & Derek Wylde
-American Wolves
3.
-Dance Mix Revolution
-Reck & Ruin
-R&R Express
-Steve Brown & Joey Kings
2. Rhino & Reggie Marley
1.
-The Afterparty
-Kriss Kross
-2.0

BEFORE GETTING TO THE TOP 20 A BRIEF REFRESHER...

The following rankings were determined through consideration of a number of factors both solid (win-loss for example) and intangible (skill & ability, past history etc.)

Things like Championships and/or featured angles/pushes carry some weight when considering rank position which is why some people may be ranked higher than others despite not having wrestled as much.

Promotions count toward rankings as well. Obviously, some promotions have more stroke than others and thus their titles, their shows and their rosters have more clout or impact on the scene than others do however, deciding just how promotions shake out is in itself a major exercise and I will address that over the course of future editions. Suffice to say that being a champ of some sketchy promotion isn't going to put you above the champ of a proven company no matter how many equally inept scrubs you may pin each month.

And there's this too... Wrestlers sometimes take part in inpromptu tag matches to settle scores ignited during singles matches earlier on the card and in those cases only, a wrestlers tag team efforts will be taken into consideration. So too will a singles wrestlers efforts in multi-man and other gimmick matches factor into their singles ranking because in most matches of that type it's basically a bunch of guys all fighting for themselves. Multi-man matches that are obviously not of that "every man for himself" type will be ignored for the purpose of these rankings

And again (I can't stress this enough)... I am ranking WRESTLERS, not WORKERS!

SO... with all that out of the way, lets get to the main event and look at December 2011's best Ontario indy wrestlers...

DECEMBER 2011 TOP 20
(Numbers in parentheses are last Month's ranking. NL = Not Listed)

1. Cody Deaner (NL)
After a 3 month absense from the Top 20 Deaner returns in December to claim the #1 spot. Deaner defeated Shawn Spears in a controversial No DQ Match at NSP's "Darkest Days". (Referee Bruno Davis switched the bout to a No-DQ midway through the match, an order many claim came from Derek Wylde.) Deaner, who has been challenging unsuccessfully for Daemon Reznor's CCW heavyweight title was in danger of dropping out of that title picture but a win over Pepper Parks at CCW's debut event in Strathroy earned him the #1 Contender spot again.

2. Buck Gunderson (NL)
When 2011 began Buck Gunderson wasn't much more than comedic relief which, while it made him popular with fans, didn't garner great success or any real upward career direction. Then, midway through the year Buck started getting serious. He was still unorthadox but his new wildman brawling style was anything but comedic. It was however, successful. Gunderson grabbed the GCW Brass Knuckles belt and defended that title 3 times in December, against Harley Davison, Zaction Pact and Tomer Shalom in Ontario's last championship match of the year.

3. Eric Cairnie (NL)
December saw EZE continue his 2011 expansion beyond the borders of PWA. Travled east and def. Castor Mc Fear at CWA's "Christmas Collision" but it was in TWA where Cairnie triumphed. Stripped of the North American Championship he's co-held for months with Robbie Reckless, EZE was knocked out of the tournament to fill the title thanks to TWA champ Kryss Thorn but a week later at "Christmas Chaos" he beat Ruin who'd won the North American belt in the tourney final. Later that night EZE beat Thorn for the heavyweight strap and ended the night with 2 titles.

4. CJ Felony (NL)
Regarded by many as a tag specialist due to his long run with Catalyst as Total Devastation, CJ Felony has spent the later half of 2011 honing his singles skills and skillfully maneuvering into the OCW heavyweight title picture. His efforts came to fruition in Dec when he defeated Harley Davison at Survival to claim OCW's top strap. The match wasn't without questionable shenanigans, OCW Commisioner Jan Murphy appointed himself referee for the match and basically stole the title from Davison. To a man named Felony, victory by theft can only makes it sweeter.

5. Primo Scordino (NL)
Like Felony, Primo Scordino is another man many people consider a tag specialist, in his case because of his long-time partnership with Tony Carbonie as The Italianos. A month ago, Scordino's career looked to be spiraling downward. The Italianos lost and failed to regain the NSP titles from The Piss Beaters and forced to disband the team. Carbonie went out with injury and Primo was left alone to face one of the most talent packed singles rosters in Ontario. Undaunted and with the odds stacked against him Primo beat Derek Wylde for the NSP Championship.

6. Chaz Lovely (NL)
Few Ontario performers are as polarizing as "Charming" Chaz Lovely, he can infuriate opponents and fans with his flamboyant discolicious ways but one can't deny he can be a dangerous and effective competitor as he demonstrated this month with a win over Cecil Nyx in CWA and a defense of his OCW Cruiserweight belt over Rip Impact. In an average month with a lot more shows and talent in the mix, Lovely's Dec achievements likely wouldn't have placed him this high. Like others in this month's Top 20, "Charming" Chaz benefited from many of Ontario's top stars being inactive this month.

7. Jeremy Barnoff (NL)
"The Prophet" (or sometimes Jeremy Prophet) continues to remain among the strongest of competitors on the eastern scene. Seems dedicated to making the CWA heavyweight championship a premier Ontario belt by defending it against skilled challengers from various areas in and out of the province. In December Barnoff turned back CK Sexx's bid for the CWA strap at "Christmas Collision". With Great North Wrestling apparently closing shop Barnoff can claim being the last (and undefeated) GWN Champion. Will 2012 see him look elsewhere for gold to compliment his CWA belt?

8. Daemon Reznor (NL)
If anybody had a breakout year in 2011 it was Daemon Reznor, the improbable Classic Championship Wrestling heavyweight champion for the last 6 months. Hated by fans, dismissed by critics, the ghoulish Reznor succeeded nonetheless and in his run as CCW champ he's defeated a veritable "Who's Who" of top Ontario talent. This month it was Martial Artist and Freak Fu master, Freak Show, who failed to lift the belt from Reznor's Alter of Darkness that is his thrown at the top of the CCW roster. Former champ Cody Deaner remains his most persistent challenger going into 2012.

9. Frank Couture (10)
As one member of a faction it's easy to go unnoticed, especially when stablemates adopt the group name as that of their tag as is the case for Frank Couture and V.I.P. (Violation In Progress). Through all the noteriety and chaos created by the group and by V.I.P. the team of Berry & MTH, Mecca Pro Champion Frank Couture has seen a very successful year. At "Tis The Season To Be Beaten" Couture retained his belt over Canadian Justice in a Fans Bring The Weapons Match. (It helped that V.I.P. took former champ FireStorm and Dave Titan out before the match.)

10. Kwan Chang (NL)
"The Asian Nightmare" remains one of Ontario's more nomadic competitors. (Kwan's home promotion is the highway.) Lately he's been circling the large but relatively inexperienced ranks of the TWA roster like a shark closing in on a school of herring. Kwan pounded enough Powerhouse grads to earn a berth in the North American Title tournament and defeated Ricky Ray and Jimmy King on route to the final but came up short when his expected opponent Randy Vahn pulled out of the match and rookie behemoth Ruin stepped in. Should be in line for an early 2012 shot at new champ EZE.

11. Pepper Parks (7)
Parks upward momentum in Neo Spirit continued in December with a big win over Tiberious King at NSP "Darkest Days" that forced the "King of Bling" from the company he founded. Parks is still struggling to break the top tier at Classic Championship Wrestling, he dropped a #1 Contender Match (for Reznor's CCW title) to Cody Deaner at that promotion's debut event in Strathroy.

12. Robbie MacAllister (NL)
His appearance at GCW's "Beyond The Limit '11" was probably his last as "The Highlander". After that show (a loss to the HillBullies in a tag with Johnny Wave) MacAllister fully adopted his Guillotine Robert Graham persona. As such he defeated fellow former WWE superstar, Scotty Too Hottie, at CWI/MCW "Season of Giving." Graham's been shaking up CWI with other Mutiny faction members The Flatliners and Bolen.

13. Frank Bradley (NL)
"The Beast" wasn't as active in 2011 as he was in years past but remains a dangerous obstacle for anyone looking for a big win over a proven talent as Yves Drouin discovered when Bradley handed him a loss in the semi main of RE/BTPW's year ending "Evolution" event in Ottawa. If Bradley commits to a fuller schedule he'll be a threat to any title defender in 2012.

14. Derek Wylde (NL)
December saw "Dangerboy" eat his biggest loss in months as Primo Scordino relieved him of the NSP Championship. (Maybe Wylde was distracted by all his shenanigans... firing Courtney Rush, paying off Ref Bruno Davis etc) Took some of that title loss sting away be defeating long-time foe Shawn Spears in a CCW Grudge Match but no-showed an advertised main event appearance at GCW "Seasons Beatings".

15. Randy Berry (NL)
"The Rage" continues to balance his singles and tag careers with a win/loss success rate in both that defies the odds. Aside from his tag successes in December with V.I.P. Berry was victorious over Brent Banks at CWA's "Christmas Collision", joining a select few individuals that pinned the "All Starter" in 2011. Berry's KOTR victory gives him a buy into the final in 2012.

16. Brent B (NL)
Started the month with a tough loss to Randy Berry but it was all upbeat from there for the man from downtown. Banks notched another win in his long-running feud with Sebastian Suave and teamed with Seleziya Sparx to defeat Shawn Spears and Angelina Love at GCW "Seasons Beatings", Ontario's last pro wrestling match of 2011. If Banks doesn't pick up a singles belt in 2012 something's wrong.

17. Randy Vahn (NL)
Southern Ontario veteran "The Sniper" Randy Vahn has been his usual belligerent self in TWA for much of 2011. Earned his way to the finals of the TWA North American Championship Tournament with wins over Terry Blaze and Rhys Greenaway. Vahn suffered an injury and gave his spot against Kwan Chang in the finals to Ruin who went on to win (and lose) the title. No word yet on when "The Sniper" will return to the ring.

18. RJ City (NL)
Very few stars can equal RJ City's mainstream exposure, he's a television star, a featured star of the recently released Monster Brawl movie and, if the rumors are true, a featured centerfold in an upcoming edition of C.O.P. magazine (Cougars On Prowl). All those extracurricular activites haven't taken the edge off RJ's ring skills, he defeated tough Russian competitor Boris Brezhnev at CWI/MCW "Season of Giving".

19. Scotty Too Hottie (NL)
Former WWE Superstar's signature "Worm" maneuver is still a big hit with fans. Scotty's skills have almost always taken a back seat to his antics but he displayed a lot of them in his match with Guillotine Graham at "Season of Giving", a match Scotty might well have won had Garham's Mutiny stablemates, The Flatliners, not gotten involved. Too Hotty is a legend who can still go.

20. Joey Allen (NL)
Young German born competitor ended his breakout year by competing in 3 matches during December. Allen defeated Derek Platinum and traded victories with Sombra to go 2 and 1 for the month. All of Allen's Dec matches were on GCW events which continues his trend toward success outside of home promotion PWA.

2011 AGGREGATE RANKINGS- SINGLES:
Aggregate Rankings are determined by assigning a numerical value to each Monthly Ranking position. #1=20 points, #2=19pts, #3=18pts and so on down with a #20 Monthly ranking earning 1 point. Each month's point score is added to subsequent Monthly Ranking placement scores to determine a person's overall Aggregate Ranking. While monthly rankings reflect specifically the events of single months the Aggregate Rankings should help identify major players of influence over the long term...

Consider these the 2011 Year End Rankings
The point totals will not carry over into next year.
Everyone starts January 2012 with Zero points.

92. Josh Alexander
88. Derek Wylde
77. Michael Elgin
70. Daemon Reznor
67. Cody Deaner
56. Tyson Dux
50. Brent Banks
49. Stupefied
41.
-Jeremy Prophet
-Pepper Parks
38. Robbie MacAllister
35. Crazzy Steve
34. Frank Couture
33. Randy Berry
30. Donovan Jack O Shea
29. Johnny Wave
26.
-Shawn Spears
-Phil Atlas
21. Anthony Darko
20.
-Val Venis
-Sebastian Suave
19.
-Buck Gunderson
-Tatanka
18.
-Eric Cairnie
-Raven
17.
-CJ Felony
-Harry Smith
-Mike Rollins
-Kevin Steen
-Dave Titan
16.
-Primo Scordino
-Shawn Brown
15.
-Chaz Lovely
-Al Snow
14. Cheech
12. Ethan Page
11.
-Kwan Chang

-Scotty O'Shea
-Cezar
-Catalyst
10.
-Alex Vega
-Bolen
-Joey Kings
9. Andrew Davis
8.
-Frank Bradley
-Kiyoshi
-Matt Cross
-Tommy Dreamer
-Alessandro Del Bruno
7.
-Joey Allen
-Randy Vahn
-Brodie Lee
-Hardkore Hick
-Reggie Marley
-Davey Richards
-Eddie Osbourne
6.
-Turcan Celik
-KGB
-Kris Chambers
-Pierre Khourey
5.
-Mathieu St. Jacques
-Real JJB
3.
-RJ City
-Robbie Reckless
-Canadian Justice
-Rip Impact
-Zakk Atticus
2.
-Scottie Too Hottie
-Scotty The Body
-Harley Davison
1.
-Hacksaw Jim Duggan
-Tyler Logan
-Sonjay Dutt
-D-Man

Introducing:

While attending the final indy event of 2011, GCW's "Seasons Beatings" I got a first-hand look at 2 newcomers to the Ontario scene I think will be worth keeping an eye on in 2012. Their Profiles will appear on OWIE this coming week.

IN CLOSING...

Okay, so that's the first edition of Monthly Rankings where I compiled the data in real time, as the month unfolded. I think it made for the most informative edition yet and since I'm starting 2012 caught up and ready to go I think this year's Month in Review articles will come in as timely a fashion as this final edition of 2011 did.

Feedback is welcome. I can be reached at owienews@hotmail.com Here

To to this I need data.
The more I know the better but it takes at least basic results of Ontario indy shows for a project such as this.

Any help Ontario indy wrestling fans and insiders can give in that regard is HUGELY appreciated. Contact me with results at owienews@hotmail.com or on Facebook here

Okay, I guess that's it.

Gordo

This month's rankings dedicated to: All the people at wrestling schools across Ontario striving to reach their dreams.

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