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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Super 20 - 2012, week 5

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

Week 5 of 2012

Week 5 of 2012 and the week of the Royal Rumble! With Sheamus winning and going on to WrestleMania, will he claim the #1 spot in the even more important Super 20 rankings?

20 -16		James Storm Storm is great but I think that TNA are pacing him to a big one on one finale with Roode which will likely take place at Lockdown. Starred in a great Tables match with Roode, Hardy and Bully on Impact.
19 -6		Eric Young EY's routine seems to be ongoing every week, but I still keep balling with laughter at everything he does. His chemistry with all the knockouts is great and it would be hilarious and Russo-esque if he ever got a shot at the Knockouts title, or even the Knockouts tag team titles with ODB.
18 -7		Mark Henry The WSM is doing great to get by on the Super 20 on his promo strength alone, as he simply can't wrestle matches at the moment because of his injury. Cutting down Big Show and Bryan on Smackdown was great, especially saying Bryan has a "Napoleon complex". He still put on a half-decent match at the Rumble too, against Big Show and Bryan, but unfortunately Bryan retained the gold.
17 new		Hunico He kayfabe broke DiBiase's wrist on Smackdown which was great and his entrance on the lowrider bike with Camacho is still awesome every time. Would liked to have seen more from him in the Rumble, but there was a lot of comedy and nostalgia spots to cover.
16 -2		Chris Jericho After an intriguing Highlight Reel on Raw in where he promised the "end of the world" at the Royal Rumble, anything less than a Nexus-like shock angle would fail to meet expectations. The fact nothing happened sucked, but Jericho redeems himself for putting on a great finale to the Rumble with Sheamus.
15 new		Mick Foley The Cobra vs. Mr. Socko was the match that has been waiting to happen for the past year since Santino debuted his green sock puppet and we finally got to see it in action at the Royal Rumble. Foley looks out of shape but he still has the charisma to pull off fun spots in matches like this.
14 new		Aksana The debut of Aksana on the Super 20 has been coming for a long time, with all her Teddy Long cut-scenes full of innuendos that barely pass for PG. What did it this week was her entrance music for her first match on Smackdown, using the cheesy saxophone jazz and blue lighting that comes on when she is with her "Teddy bear."
13 -11		Michael Cole When Cole was berating Booker T and Jerry Lawler for entering the Royal Rumble, I had the feeling he would be entering also and my wishes were met as he entered and got comically eliminated by the returning Kharma. Also love the fact he still continues to run down Daniel Bryan despite his recent heel turn - he still sucks. Vintage Cole.
12 new		Santino Marella Sometimes Santino's comedy irritates me, but he was particularly hilarious this week - first walking into Natalya's fart on Smackdown and secondly his previously mentioned Cobra vs. Mr. Sock lock-up with Foley at the Rumble.
11 +9		Titus O'Neil Heel Titus stays on the Super 20 for a 2nd straight week, an amazing achievement for any NXT wrestler and especially when it was the week of the Royal Rumble AND he moved up 9 places. Anyone who isn't watching NXT should be to see this great star in action. A draft to Raw or Smackdown after WrestleMania is in order. A great match with ex-tag partner Percy Watson was a highlight of the week.
10 new		The Miz Lasting over 40 minutes in the Rumble, The Miz looked like a real star until he was unceremoniously eliminated by the Big Show near the end. I want to see The Miz in a high profile angle going into WrestleMania and lasting that long in the Rumble shows WWE still have faith in him.
9 +3		Sting A weekly fixture in this list, Sting is gold on Impact right now and he feels like a legitimate general manager with the way he goes about things, in his own crazy way. A brewing feud with Bully Ray has high potential of something great leading into the big Lockdown PPV in a couple of months.
8 -7		John Laurinaitis Big Johnny getting on his knees and telling Zack "woo woo woo, you know it" like he was a make-a-wish kid in his wheelchair was classic, as was his selling of the GTS on Raw, looking straight down to the floor. I wanted him to see him screw Punk out of the title at the Rumble and get his revenge, but I'm sure that is to come later.
7 new		Ricardo Rodriguez Double R was fantastic in the Rumble, and in one that was littered with comedy spots he stood out the most. The arena popped when they heard Del Rio's music, but Ricardo coming out in a banged out old car and donning Alberto's scarf was hysterical, as was his square off with Santino. It was cool to see him get a join elimination with Mick Foley.
6 -1		John Cena Despite his cringe-worthy constipation face on Raw this week, Cena was great in his role and had a stellar match with Kane at the Rumble. Shame that it went to a double count-out, but it makes sense if they want to prolong the feud to the next PPV.
5 new		Kofi Kingston So you think Kofi Kingston is first up in the fave five this week because of his awesome handstand walk at the Royal Rumble? Well, that would be the main reason - but a solid match on Superstars with Michael McGillicutty also showed me the Kofi Kingston we have been missing since his unfortunate pairing with the inept Evan Bourne in Air Boom. After 'Mania, a solid singles run near the top of the card should be in order for Kofi, after putting up with years of crap.
4 -1		Bully Ray Impact is starting to feel like the Bully Ray show, and on any other week the hardcore legend would have probably been number 1 in the list again, but he had to contend with the Royal Rumble - no mean feat. His brawl with Hardy to open Impact, as was the tag team tables main event at the end and the prospect of a Sting-Bully feud has me excited.
3 +12		Cody Rhodes Despite going out with a whimper, Rhodes was one of the biggest stars coming out of this year's Rumble - lasting over 40 minutes and eliminating many of the legends and nostalgia acts. He will be the next top heel in wrestling, possibly after WrestleMania.
2 new		Kane Unfortunately, Kane did not get to keep up his long streak of consecutive Rumble appearances, dating back over a decade - but he did break Ryder's back (kayfabe) and hopefully force him off TV for a while. The look on his face as he tombstoned Ryder at the Rumble PPV was priceless
1 +7		Sheamus The undisputed number 1 for this week, I was shouting at the TV in the final five minutes where Sheamus and Jericho went one on one at the end of the Rumble. As much as I love Jericho, Sheamus was the perfect winner here and this victory should be the one that propels him to real main event superstar levels. Though he has held the title twice before and had good feuds, main eventing a WrestleMania headline match should kickstar his career as a real big draw, which he can be for the WWE.