Super 20 - 2012, Week 4

Super 20 - the top 20 wrestlers this week in wrestling.

Week 4 of 2012

A revolutionary week this week, as 11 newcomers make it into the chart, some returning faces, a couple of brand new stars and the very first ever NXT entries.  Read on to find out...

20 new		Titus O'Neil After a decent match with Darren Young, Titus O'Neil cut a hilarious and random heel swerve promo for seemingly no reason.  The first ever NXT entry onto the prestigious Super 20.
19 new		Mickie James A great match with Madison Rayne this week on Impact, TNA knockouts keep showing the WWE barbie dolls how it's done.  Mickie James is probably the best female in-ring worker around, an underrated talent.
18 new		Jack Swagger That two minutes of Swagger beating the crap out of Zack Ryder and then pinning him to steal the U.S. title was one of the most satisfying things on Raw as of late.  About time that farsical run came to an end.  The U.S. title suits Swagger perfectly.
17 new		Vickie Guerrero If you didn't see Vickie Guerrero daning on this week's episode of Smackdown make sure you find it on Youtube. She's had some funny moments in her career, but this was amongst the best of them. She also played her part well on Raw in the opening promo, laughing in Mick Foley's face as Laurinaitis told him he couldn't be in the Rumble.
16 -13		Gunner A big win over AJ Styles for Gunner this week on Impact, but unfortunately no DDT to the concrete.
15 +2		Cody Rhodes After posting my Top 5 Hornswoggle moments article this week, I got a kick out of Cody Rhodes going after the little troll and beating on him until Justin Gabriel made the save. They had a decent five minute match, Cody showing how talented he is in the ring as always.
14 -10		Chris Jericho Jericho falls down 10 places, but his performance on Raw was still gold, walking out in the middle of the tag team match after hyping up the crowd. Still no idea where this is all leading to, it's keeping us all glued to find out week after week - great writing
13 new		Eric Young EY was hilarious as usual and his "match" with Angelina Love. He keeps finding news ways to make his grapple spot funny, even though we've all seen it 100 times already. His chemistry with ODB is amazing, they should become a legit tag team.
12 +3		Sting The boss of Impact was great in his role as GM, as he has been every week the last couple of months. A feud with Bully Ray could make for some great matches and promos.
11 +3		Mark Henry The WSM running down Teddy Long and his Vegas wheel on Smackdown was priceless. His match with Bryan wasn't so good, but that was down to bad booking more than anything. Desperate to see Henry take the gold against Bryan and Big Show at the Rumble - he deserves to main event WrestleMania.
10 new		R-Truth As I go through the list it feels like there were lots of great comedy segments in wrestling this week.  Truth's photoshop slideshow at Disneyland was brilliant, and the "I'm not even sure if that's PG" line was hysterical. I though R-Truth as a babyface might be terrible but it's actually turning out better than him as a heel.
9 new		Garrett Bischoff The training video of Garrett Bischoff on Impact this week was hilarious and epic, channelling the spirit of Rocky Balboa and Tony Montana with a cheesy 80's movie style montage. Just who is Bischoff's trainer?
8 new		Sheamus Sheamus and Wade Barrett put on a spectacle of a match on Smackdown this week and one of the best TV matches in a while, with their tables match. Less leprchaun and Irish comedy and more intensity like this from Sheamus and he will find a regular spot in the illustrious Super 20.
7 new		Wade Barrett Barrett just about gets the nod over Sheamus, but he had the benefit of enjoying the previously mentioned promo with R-Truth to get him there. The win over the Irish fella helps too. He seems like one of the odds on favourites to win the Royal Rumble in a few weeks.
6 new		Dolph Ziggler Mr. Ziggles has truly arrived. His promo destroying Mick Foley was incredible and for the first time ever Ziggler felt like a bonafide main eventer, with the mic skills to match his stellar in-ring work.
5 +13		John Cena Cena showed a side of him we haven't seen for a long time this week on Raw, physically decimating Jack Swagger in revenge for his assault and title win over Zack Ryder earlier in the night. He looked great as the pissed off tough guy and even showed heelish tendencies in his assault, Swagger coming off as kind of sympathetic. The Rise Above Hate angle continues, but where will it lead to?
4 -2		James Storm It's stupid that James Storm had to fight another #1 contendership match this week - this time against Jeff Hardy - but nevertheless Storm looked like a legit main event star on the mic and in the ring. He has it all to be the lead face of TNA and take them to next level, I believe - as I wrote in this article.
3 -2		Bully Ray If Storm is the top face in TNA right now, then Bully Ray is the top heel. A fantastic backstage segment with Sting showed off a great chemistry with the Insane Icon and the post-main event beatdown on Storm and Hardy with his trademark chain was a mark-out moment. After a feud with Sting, Bully deserves a PPV world title match sometime in the next few months.
2 new		Michael Cole Any Cole Miners out there who didn't watch this weeks episode of NXT: Redemption - go and watch it. Cole was good on Smackdown and heeled it up to his usual high standards, but on NXT he gave a blistering performance. He destroyed everyone and everything associated with the show, all in typical Cole fashion and turned what would have been a terrible, unwatchable wedding angle between Johnny Curtis and Maxine into a work of art with the gift of his voice. Vintage.
1 +11		John Laurinaitis John Laurinaitis becomes the first ever star to win the historic Super 20 for a second time, after a blistering performance on Raw. If the Ziggler-Punk title match at the Rumble had no heat going into it, that all changed after Laurinaitis completely sold the match with his brilliant promo work. Credit has to be given to Punk for his promo against Laurinaitis also, and he narrowly misses out on the top 20 this week - but Laurinaitis was on another level with his end promo, finally snapping after weeks of back-and-forth with CM Punk. His mannerisms when he finally snapped were amazing and I had flashes of early Vince Mcmahon, fixing the tie and wiping down his suit. Decking Foley with the microphone was a touch of class to finish the show. If CM Punk can keep his game up, this feud could be the next Austin-McMahon - and hopefully they will have some matches down the line.

Breakout Star Of The Year Award - Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment

This Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment award, the Breakout Star Of The Year goes to the best newcomer to a promotion within the last year.

5. Austin Aries
As Austin Aries made his way down the Impact Zone ramp donned in some kind of shit purple cape for the first time, me and my friends thought - who is this guy?  Another lame skinny loser from ROH who thinks he's a big shot.

Then the match started and off he went, proving us all wrong.  Finishing off some jobber with a sick-looking brainbuster, the saviour of the X Division was finally here.  A little guy who actually carried himself like a main eventer, who didn't look nervous when he spoke, who could get away with his size because he acted like a man and not a boy.

What the X Division was lacking was someone like Aries, someone to give the division credibility.  And sure enough, he became X Division champion within a couple of months of debuting - and rightfully so.   While Kendrick had his funny moments through the year (calling Hogan a reptilian being the highlight) his in-ring style was bland and looked weak and ineffective.  Aries hits much harder and his stiffness paid off for him.

But unfortunately Aries has fizzled out towards the end of the year after his impactful debut.  The returning Kid Kash began to steal his spotlight and looked like the real star of the X Division, the new alpha male.  Hopefully next year things will pick up for him again and it would be nice to see Aries against some bigger opponents.

4. Mason Ryan
"OMG BATISTA HAS JOINED THE NEW NEXUS WTF" were the collective thoughts of the Raw viewing audience as Mason Ryan made his debut attacking [insert whoever Punk was feuding with at the time here], and no doubt if WWE was as obsessed with Twitter as they are now then "Batista" would have been a trending topic popping up in the bottom left corner of the screen.

But it was not Batista joining the New Nexus that fateful night, it was Mason Ryan.  While his debut year has been far from impressive, with no notable feuds or matches to speak of, the potential in Ryan is what sees him enter at number 4 on this list.

The big man from Wales has all the qualities to get a big push in the next year - i.e. he is one of the most muscular guys the WWE has ever seen.  You can only imagine what he would have looked like during the 80's and 90's when everyone was on steroids.  If guys like Evan Bourne and R-Truth can get busted on the Wellness policy and Ryan can't, then I don't know what he is eating for breakfast.

3. Garrett Bischoff
In one of the top contenders for match of the year (Hulk Hogan vs. Sting, Bound For Glory), Garrett Bischoff had his star-making moment.  Like Clark Kent turning into Superman, the lowly referee Jackson James became the rebellious son of Eric Bischoff, Garrett.  And not only was Garrett no longer a referee, he was the breakout superstar for TNA in 2011.

Flashing the Bischoff crest on his left pec with pride was another defining moment for the young star, standing up to his father for his evil wrong-doings in Immortal.  And so begins the father-son feud between the two Bischoffs which will likely (hopefully) run long into the next year.  One can only hope TNA brings in David Flair, son of Ric, to have a dream feud with Garrett Bischoff, son of Eric.  Perhaps in 2012?  Sometimes dreams do come true (see: Kevin Nash returning to the WWE).

2. Hunico
The lights dim down to a golden hue, the ethereal new age music begins, summoning spirits of the Aztecs, the rich heritage of the luchadors, the soul of Mexico.  The trampoline is in place for the big entrance.  And here he comes, Latin America's biggest wrestling superstar and the man that the all-mighty, all-knowing Wrestling Observer newsletter (more like MMA Observer these days) dubbed the "Wrestler of the year" back in 2006.

And then Sin Cara, a.k.a. Mistico, botches his ring entrance.  Then he botches in his debut match.  And again, and again.  And then he fails the wellness test.  Then he fucked his leg up with an injury.  And the big project, designed to be the next Rey Mysterio to shift cheap masks to kids, completely fails.

But fortunately WWE has a plan.  In comes Sin Cara Negro, the arch-nemesis of Sin Cara.  And it turns out this guy is better than the real Sin Cara, much better in fact.

While Sin Cara was out for smoking weed, or whatever he did wrong, Sin Cara Negro was making the Sin Cara character look good.  And so one of the worst feuds of the year began, Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara - then quickly ended, with Sin Cara Negro being unmasked in the end, who then became Hunico.

Hunico already looks like one of the best workers in the WWE today already and it would be a crime if they let him slip under the radar now.  He has already had good matches as the fake Sin Cara and as Hunico - and being one of the last 4 in this years Survivor Series match was a mark-out moment for myself personally.  If WWE want another guy for the Mexican audience to enjoy, here is your man.  Dump Sin Cara and let him go back to Mexico, or the TNA X Division.  Hunico is the next big thing.

1. Booker T (Winner)

WHUT DA HEYYUULLLL!

And with the greatest of ease, Booker T comes in at number one, the winner of the prestigious Breakout Star Of The Year Award!  Of course, he makes this entry for his commentary career and not his wrestling career (which incidentally starts again this Sunday against Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental title).

First, let me take you back to last year.  As the cameras rolled for NXT Season 3, the all divas season, and Michael Cole was just getting into full swing with his comedy heel character - things were good, but he needed someone to bounce off.  The good guy to be the butt of his jokes - just as he had been for JBL years ago on Smackdown.  Josh Matthews couldn't be that guy - though he has brilliant chemistry with Cole, he is simply too quiet and unopinionated.  Though Josh is great, he works best as the subtle troll announcer - but that's a whole other article in itself.

So after turning up at the Royal Rumble and being one of the trainers for this year's Tough Enough, Booker T landed himself a commentary position on the Smackdown announce table.  With cliche after cliche, smarks complaining online in droves about his ineffectual commentary and Cole ribbing him throughout the whole show, a new era of Smackdown was born.  Smackdown became the absolute best wrestling show on TV this year, surpassing Raw and Impact.  Of course, Orton, Christian, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus and others were a big part of that - but it would not have been the same without Booker, Cole and Matthews calling the action.

To celebrate the first ever Breakout Star of the Year award winner, let us take a look at this very special clip of the man we know as the five time, five time, five time dubya C dubya champion, Booker T.  Oh mah goodness!