Super 20 - Week 8, 2012

And so Sting exits the Super 20 for the first time, just about, leaving only one man who has been featured every week since the inception of the list. Read on to find out who... (Obvious if you read every week - which you should!)

20 new		Mark Henry Henry barely has to do anything for me to put him in the Super 20. A good backstage segment on Smackdown with a promo at Elimination Chamber and here he is in the countdown again, without even wrestling a match.
19 new		The Miz I sat cheering for The Miz when it came down to him and CM Punk at the PPV, and for the first time in a while The Miz felt like a legit main eventer again. He really needs to be pushed back up the card. I really wanted a feud between him and Punk going in to WrestleMania, but it seems like it will be Punk-Jericho.
18 new		Wade Barrett Barrett was the workhorse in the Smackdown elimination chamber match and put on a good show. I like his knees to the face move while his opponents are caught in the ropes - it's like the heel version of Sheamus' 'Irish Hand Grenade' (as Booker T called it)
17 new		R-Truth Truth is here simply for his part in the "debate" on Raw. "When I get elected, I will draft Hornswoggle and a box of spiders.."
16 new		Christian It was awesome to see Christian back and in one of the best comedy promos in a long time, along with Mr. Excitement and..
15 new		Alberto Del Rio Berto! I knew Christian was due to be at the PPV, but Del Rio was a legit surprise. It was great to see him and Christian back. I am hoping there is going to be a 4 vs 4 match at WrestleMania, representing Team Laurinaitis and Team Teddy.
14 +3 7w		James Storm Storm is right on you know who's (no spoilers!) tail, with 7 weeks on the Super 20 now. His match with you know who (oops, I spoiled it..) this week was stellar, and you don't get many better matches on free TV. It is awesome for him to finally get a one on one shot with Roode for the title, and the angle building up to Lockdown should be great.
13 -9 3w		Daniel Bryan I really hated Daniel Bryan after he made Santino Marella tap at Elimination Chamber, and for that he deserves praise for how good he is as a heel. A decent promo on Smackdown and a good match with Sheamus also helps him stay on the Super 20 this week. His facial expressions are getting better every week.
12 new		Big Show I'm not sure why, but Big Show is just entertaining to me these days. Tearing up Teddy Long's office on Smackdown was hilarious and his spot breaking in to Daniel Bryan's pod in the Elimination Chamber match was great too - I really wanted to see him beat the shit out of him.
11 n/c 2w		Sonjay Dutt I can't believe how good this Sonjay Dutt guy is. TNA really need to sign him up to their roster as part of the X Division or something, he has bucketloads of personality and he can go in the ring.
10 -9 2w		Scott Steiner He falls down from the #1 spot last week, but Steiner was still hilarious this week - and even a little more surreal than usual. Trying to bribe Isaiah Cash to join his faction by putting a bowl of fruit in his lap? So funny.
9 new		Shawn Michaels HBK is awesome and I hope one day he comes back as a full time on-screen personality, perhaps reviving his commissioner role from the late-nineties. His promo with Triple H was one of the best I've seen in a while. Those two bring the best out of each other.
8 +2 3w		Robert Roode Roode is getting into full swing as a heel now and starting to get really big heat. His match with Jeff Hardy for the title on Impact was great, as was his opening promo in which he insisted the crowds boos were chants of "Roooode" - hilarious
7 +5 2w		David Otunga
6 +3 2w		Jwala So I asked someone to translate what Jwala's beef is with Jazzy Lahoria, and it appears as though he's pissed that he wasn't in the World Title tournament. I have to say I agree with him. Loved him beating the crap out of that pot-bellied little fat guy on Saturday's episode and a budding  feud with Deadly Danda is an awesome prospect.
5 new		John Laurinaitis Big Johnny is back and he's back with a bang as he lands straight into the Fave Five. He is the funniest guy in wrestling right now and every word out of his mouth makes me laugh. Him and David Otunga make a brilliant duo and here's hoping his expert legal counsel gets him the job taking over Smackdown.
4 new		John Cena A big week for Cena. He "embraced the hate" by sharing a kiss with Eve, then rose above it by beating Kane in a pretty good match at Elimination Chamber and still got the time to show some FCW rookies how to lift weights in his private gym. What a great guy.
3 -1 8w		Bully Ray Calveszilla, the only remaining star in the Super 20 who has been featured every single weeks since its inception - an incredible 8 weeks. And here he is, in the Fave Five yet again, moving down only 1 spot (and still TNA's undisputed #1). I  rarely get excited for the prospect of a wrestler vs. celebrity feud, especially when it's a celebrity I don't know - but I can't wait to see the follow up to Bully Ray and American Footballer Brandon Jacobs. A great match with James Storm and The Bully keeps evolving in his matches, this week ripping Storms boot off. The best heel in the business right now.
2 +3 3w		Triple H Triple H cut one of the best promos I've seen in a very long time on Raw. Calling The Undertaker a "brand" and refusing to take up his rematch offer was great writing and with awesome delivery from Triple H.  His feud with Undertaker is shaping up to be an epic for the ages.
1 new		Santino Marella Who would ever think Santino Marella would get the #1 spot in his current stage of his career? But this was a special week for Santino Marella and probably the highlight of his career so far. After winning a battle royale to enter the Elimination Chamber, he was the man of the night at the PPV and earnt every penny of his main event paycheque, keeping the fans (and me) on the edge of their seat to the very end. When he hit the cobra on Daniel Bryan, we were all sure he had won the big one and how we all cried when Bryan made him tap, after fighting so hard. He took us on an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. Everyone was unconvined with Santino being Orton's replacement when Orton suffered a concussion this week, but I would argue the match was even better than it would have been as a result.

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Super 20 - Week 7, 2012

With more NXT stars than Raw ones this week, has the world gone mad? No.. this is wrestling, so expect the unexpected. But who really ever though an Indian promotion would ever come along that would challenge the big American companies? Ring Ka King finds itself entering the Super 20 this week and most likely will for many weeks to come..

20 new		Percy Watson Sadly the end of Titus O'Neil's 3-week streak on the Super 20, but perhaps the beginning of something new as Percy Watson hits number 20 on a super tough week. He looks like he could be a future star to me - he's confident, his in-ring work is good, his promos are clear, he has a good voice and he has charisma. Plus, age is on his side.
19 new		The Great Khali Don't know if it's my new-found love for Indian wrestling after seeing Ring Ka King, but I find myself receptive to the return of Great Khali. He brings something different to the table and we haven't seen him for a while, plus he sold the RKO like a champ' on Raw - which he deserves kudos for.
18 new		Gail Kim I wasn't into Gail Kim much til the last couple of weeks when she had two great matches with Tara. Tara deserves plaudits too, but Gail Kim is just a little bit better.
17 -16 6w		James Storm Storm did not look the star that he did last week on Impact or Against All Odds and seemed to play second fiddle to Jeff Hardy. He still looked great though, but TNA need to put everything behind him leading up to Lockdown if they want to build him up as the next top face of the company (which they should)
16 new		Johnny Curtis Curtis' character is awesome and unique and he plays the part of the creepy sexually charged guy well. Proper laugh out loud moments when you see him hiding behind doors or corners of walls. As well as his backstage skits, he had a cool match with Yoshi Tatsu on Superstars this week and showed off his new personality well, making the rest holds fun with his peculiar mannerisms.
15 new		AJ Styles AJ Styles still looks like a main event star to me, no matter how many mid-card angles he gets put in. His matches with Daniels and Kazarian this week were good and he came out of both looking like a real pro.
14 +2 2w		Austin Aries Aries gets in here for a second week just on match strength alone. I'm glad to see him beat Alex Shelley clean, he has to be one of the first long-term dominant heel champions I've seen in years. But it begs the question - who else is left? Zema Ion is the new number one contender, and whether that was by accident or not after the Jesse Sorenson injury, it should prove to be an interesting match up with Aries. The fans are already chanting his name - perhaps a face turn is in order? That could be the cause if they plan to feud him with Ion.
13 new		David Otunga Hilarious promo from Otunga this week, "praying" for John Laurinaitis in the Tim Tebow pose to big heel heat. The reason I love Otunga is the same reason I love Ring Ka King - he's an over the top, larger than life character who takes what could be a crap gimmick without the right direction and gives it personality of his own. Always like to see wrestling in suits, ever since I saw The Wall in WCW - so another bonus that helps find Otunga back on the top 20.
12 new		Gunner Welcome back to the Super 20 Gunner and let's hope you stay here for a long time to come. It was about time someone beat the hell out of Garrett Bischoff and taught that punk kid a lesson, and thankfully that man was Gunner at Against All Odds. Would preferred to have seen his DDT on the concrete, but a simple DDT to the mat was fine enough. Still believe he will be a World Champ' by the time the year is through.
11 new		Sonjay Dutt Not sure if Sonjay Dutt is an American-born Indian wrestler or if he is just one of the Indian guys, but he has a crispness to his in-ring work that I was surprised to see - most of the other Indian talent in RKK is pretty green. His character is great too, that of the weaselly heel and he does it better than anyone else in wrestling right now. Kissing his opponent's foot was hilarious and even one of the Indian commentators broke into English to laugh and say "I love this guy"
10 +2 2w		Robert Roode I thought I was getting sick of Robert Roode, but the ending of the Against All Odds match showed me he is a legitimate champ', with his interactions with Sting. Spitting in Sting's face then laughing and telling him to count when Sting knocked Hardy out with the belt was great. I can forgive how badly the match was booked (why didn't Sting count Bully to win the title if he could count Roode?), just for the great ending - which Roode played magnificently. Even tapping out to Sting on Impact and rolling out cradling the belt like his baby and trying to get friendly with Bully Ray was quality - "Calfs and abs, like old times!" - "Old times" of course being less than 2 weeks ago.
9 new		Jwala I don't know what Jwala's beef is and I'm not quite sure if he is face or heel, but he has an amazing intensity and creepiness about him. Not even sure what the mark is on the side of his face, but it looks cool. As soon as I saw him on camera he stood out to me and he is one of the better Indian wrestlers in Ring Ka King.
8 -5 2w		Randy Orton Randy Orton brings real star power to WWE, and even though he is hanging around in the mid-card at the moment, he should either win the Elimination Chamber match or face the winner at WrestleMania. A strong match with Bryan with a good ending in where he brawled with Big Show sees him stay around the top 10.
7 +2 2w		Heath Slater The One Man Southern Rock Band stays on the chart for a second week after having the best match in WWE world on Superstars with Justin Gabriel. Why is Gabriel not here though? Because he doesn't have the charisma, the charm and the brilliance of Heath Slater. Both are good workers that compliment each other, as seen with their great match - but Slater has the edge on Gabriel with his mannerisms and general demeanor. He stands out from the crowd.
6 +7 7w		Sting Sting is one of only two players left suviving from week 1 of the Super 20, in a tough week where Cody Rhodes (did nothing noteworthy), John Cena (not on TV), John Laurinaitis (rarely featured) and Mark Henry (suspended) all lost their spots. But Sting was great this week.  His mega charisma, while more apparent than anyone elses in TNA, doesn't overflow and make anyone else look bad. That is why Sting is so good, whereas Hogan's charisma just steals the show - that can  be a positive or a negative. The Stinger was great in the tag team match main event and his segment with Roode at the end of Against All Odds showed why he is one of the more intriguing characters on the show, even if that match was overbooked so poorly at the end.
5 +2 2w		Triple H The Triple H-Taker feud just blows everything else out of the water right now in WWE and the slow build up to WrestleMania should be epic. Hunter's opening promo on Raw was long, but necessarily so - it gave a new spin to the feud and made the match seem more relevant than it would have been, giving HHH a heelish edge.
4 +2 2w		Daniel Bryan Bryan improves week after week and his new left-wing liberal gimmick makes him even more hateable as a heel. Everything about him has improved, from his promos, to his matches and even his facial mannerisms. It is small things like that which make a star and one of the things I criticised Daniel Bryan about in my '10 reasons Daniel Bryan sucks' was how he should study Randy Orton for that part of his in-ring game. Seemingly he has taken my advice and he has become one of the more entertaining acts in WWE at the moment because of it.
3 new		Magnus After seeing Magnus kill it on the microphone this week on Impact and then seeing him in Ring Ka King as "Sir" Brutus Magnus, I am convinced he is the future of the business. Wade Barrett move over, Magnus is the next big thing out of England. To think he is only in his mid-twenties is a shock, his in-ring work and promo style suggests that of a veteran. In Ring Ka King he looks like a total star and in TNA he is helping make Samoa Joe relevant again - something nobody has been able to do for 2 years.
2 n/c 7w		Bully Ray The Bully was incredible this week, as always and along with Sting is one of only two remaining stars who have appeared on every Super 20 list since its inception, many moons ago. He played his part in some good matches this week and cut awesome promos as usual (calling Christy Hemme a skank was priceless), but my favourite Bully moment this week came on TNA Xplosion, the UK only show. Some blonde slag from the shitty Man U channel was being interviewed as she had been in attendance at the Impact house show in Manchester, when Bully Ray turns up in a Liverpool top and starts calling her ugly and fat and to stop calling him at 3 in the morning. So, so funny - but not as funny as... .
1 new		Scott Steiner ...Big Poppa Pump! With Ring Ka King pulling in a reported 14million viewers in India, beating out Raw in America by 10million, Scott Steiner is the hottest act in wrestling right now. Some may say Matt Morgan would be entitled to this honour, due to him being the RKK champion - but the real star of the show is The Genetic Freak, bringing his surreal jacked-up comedy ravings to India and terrifying the fans in the process. Anyone who doesn't believe a Ring Ka King star deserves to be at the top of this list just needs to watch the opening minutes of one of the latest episodes in where Steiner calls the Indian general manager Jazzy Lahoria "white trash". Ring Ka King is awesome in itself, but Steiner being on there makes it 10 x better. It is more simplfied and old school in it's feel as it's for an audience more unaccustomed to wrestling than our own, which begs the question why they brought a lunatic like Scott Steiner across - someone that native English speakers can barely understand half the time. It just adds to the greatness that is Ring Ka King - the show is wrestling gold and Steiner is the best act on there.

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Super 20 - Week 6, 2012

A strong week for wrestling matches on TV, with Raw, Smackdown and Impact all putting on good shows. Will Titus O'Neil break the Super 20 for the third week in a row? And yeah, Jericho has dropped off it for now.. what a failure of a return that has been so far.

20 new		Hulk Hogan Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
19 -5 2w		Aksana An early nominee for best entrance of the year and her sexual innuendo jokes with Teddy Long keep getting funnier.
18 -6 2w		Santino Marella The former master of the Honk-O-Meter is on form as of late and finds himself in the Super 20 for a second week running. If he keeps walking into Natalya's farts he will surely have a regular place here.
17 -11 6w		John Cena I can't tell if Cena had "embraced the hate" or not this week, as he was his usual playful self even when beating Kane up around the ring. Still intrigued as to where this is going though, and the new hype videos for Cena and Rock have me excited for WrestleMania.
16 new		Austin Aries A Double carries himself better than anyone else in the X Division and it's hard not to cheer for him when he keeps beating all the vanilla midgets cleanly. A man amongst boys. When CM Punk calls himself the "best in the world" it's a bit of a stretch, but Aries calling himself "the greatest man that ever lived" .. I can enjoy that.
15 -12 6w		Cody Rhodes A good short match with Sheamus on Smackdown this week, preceded by a decent promo promising to win the World Heavyweight Title at Elimination Chamber. I would love that to be the case, but I doubt it's going to happen. Still, Cody should be line for a singles match at WrestleMania. One of the few left remaining who has been on the Super 20 chart every week since its inception.
14 -3 3w		Titus O'Neil Make it a win! Heel Titus breaks the Super 20 for a 3rd week in a row. This is vintage heel stuff, the new suit, calling the fans idiots for no reason, fluffing promos. If the internet got Zack Ryder on TV we should be able to get Titus on too. #TITUS4RAW Owh owh owh! (Titus's bark/seal noise)
13 -4 6w		Sting The Stinger keeps up with the likes of Cena and Cody Rhodes by staying on the Super 20 for a 6th consecutive week. He just stands out as a total star compared to everyone on Impact at the moment. The black cricket back was a funny touch. Can't wait to see him in action next week.
12 new		Robert Roode I'm slowly starting to turn around on Robert Roode, who's heel turn I hated at first. Of course, Bully Ray is playing a big part in getting him over, but to Roode's credit he had a great match with ex-tag partner James Storm this week. I still don't know what his finisher is though, which is a problem.
11 -10 3w		Sheamus I guess Sheamus will just be biding his time until after Elimination Chamber now by picknig up wins on every show until he announces who he will be facing. I'm hoping he goes after the WWE title just for the swerve.
10 +8 6w		Mark Henry One of the few wrestlers who is tied for 6 weeks on the Super 20 chart, Mark Henry will unfortunately not be with us next week after his kayfabe suspension. His exiting promo was typical Henry though. He is one of the best in the business on the microphone right now. Hopefully he is back in time for WrestleMania for a big main event match.
9 new		Heath Slater Slater cut the promo of the week this week on NXT (2 NXT entrants in one week!), in where he replayed a clip of him finally winning a match over and over again til it reached Family Guy levels of surrealism. It was downright hilarious. His promo work is just great too, he has a cocky, self-assured confidence that doesn't overstep the mark. I'd love to see Slater called up full time to Smackdown if he keeps cutting promos like this.
8 new		Undertaker When you see Undertaker's entrance week after week it becomes unbearable, but coming back for one match a year at WrestleMania makes it cool when it happens. Shame he was wearing a stupid wig.
7 new		Triple H The staredown with Triple H and Undertaker was epic, a level of stardom that can only be achieved after two decades or so in the business. Two old-timers squaring off for perhaps the last time in their careers. Shades of Metal Gear Solid 4, westerns and everything else cool as fuck. I didn't like their match last year, but I'm still excited to see what happens with this angle.
6 new		Daniel Bryan Whoever thought we would see the day that Daniel Bryan debuted in the Super 20? Not I, that's for sure, but Bryan has proven his doubted wrong in recent weeks - upping his promo game, acting skills and showing a new star power that was lacking in the past. His heel turn has done wonders for him, much like Christian's did last year. The subtle face he pulled at Big Show when he was holding AJ was almost an Orton-level of great facial acting. All that said, his match with CM Punk was also brilliant and perhaps my favourite Bryan match since he faced Dolph Ziggler at Bragging Rights 2010.
5 +3 6w		John Laurinaitis Like Michael Cole this time last year, John Laurinaitis is pure comedy gold at the moment. Putting chap-stick on and puckering up his lips to join the "kiss my ass club" was hysterical, laugh out loud funny. He is the star of Raw.
4 new		Wade Barrett Despite debuting one of the worst wrestling themes I've ever heard which sounds like it was tailored more for Trent Baretta or someone, Wade Barrett put on a good, long main event match with Randy Orton on Smackdown. He looked like a star on Raw when he was being interviewed in the VIP suited by Josh Matthews and could well go on to win the title at Elimination Chamber.
3 new		Randy Orton Like weeks past, Barrett and Orton have helped each other rise to the top of this prestigious ranking system by putting on another great match in their series. Seemingly the finale to the feud, Orton and Barrett will be top contenders to take the belt away from Daniel Bryan at Elimination Chamber in a couple of weeks. A decent match with Dolph Ziggler on Raw also sees Randy Orton re-enter the Super 20 after injury.
2 +2 6w		Bully Ray The Bully is becoming a constant fixture at the top of the Super 20 and while I often praise his promo work here, I have to give credit for his work in the ring this week. His match with James Storm was fantastic and Bully plays the role of the heel better than anyone in the ring. The spot where he spits in the air and catches it in his mouth is hilarious and it's unique little things like that which have made him one of the most valuable assets in wrestling today - who would have thought that ten years ago when he was Bubba Ray with the stutter and the glasses?
1 +19 5w		James Storm The Cowboy picks up his first #1 spot in the Super 20 this week after two fantastic matches on the London Impact. Storm is simply the best babyface in wrestling right now and is universally loved by all different types of fans - a rare feat in today's wrestling world. His match with Robert Roode was great and promises for a great feud down the line, but his match with Bully Ray was one of the best matches of the year so far. The London crowd loved the Cowboy and hopefully his popularity will see him raise to the top of Impact Wrestling and capture a second World Heavyweight Title.

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