Missouri Wrestling Revival

Mark This Down

by “Smart” Mark Anthony
No more disclaimers. No more excuses. It’s just me, “Smart” Mark Anthony with another edition of “Mark This Down”. Today, I’ll try to be a little less controversial. I won’t talk about anything that will get anybody severely riled up. I won’t entertain thoughts of talking backstage politics or the he said, she said stuff that can sometimes become a staple of the professional wrestling landscape. We all know that my people are going to call wrestlers underrated, overrated, or average. Wrestlers and promotions are going to call fans “marks” in a negative way and still beg them to buy merchandise and tickets to events. It’s all just a vicious cycle, but I digress.

This time around I’m taking another step to the foreground of Missouri Wrestling Revival. I’ll be going over the twenty guys that at this stage in the game I feel should be listed in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s PWI 500. That elite list of professional wrestlers from around the world has lost a little of it’s prestige in this day and age due to my people, the Internet Wrestling Community, but while some of my people will say that it’s obsolete, I hearby decree it to be THE list of professional wrestlers.

The PWI 500 dates back to the days when I was a wide eyed boy looking at professional wrestling as a legitimate sport. It was a great way for me to see how wrestlers I was more familiar with rated with others from around the world. Since the late 90s, the list has decreased in popularity due to the decline of pro wrestling magazines (in favor of… GASP! the Internet), but it still has a prominent place in a true wrestling fan’s heart.

I understand that I am getting a little on the ranty side, so let’s just look at my list.

20. Curtis Payne (Full Throttle Wrestling) – The new FTW champion won the belt in very dramatic fashion, proving that he belongs on this list.

19. Brett Young (Central States Wrestling) – Young is one of the best talents out there and while he doesn’t have the most impressive win-loss record, he has really turned it on in 2008 with valuable victories on the way to winning the NWA Kansas Title.

18. Shorty Biggs (Lethal Wrestling Alliance) – A crowd favorite, Shorty held the LWA Heavyweight Championship for months before losing it to “The Future” Donovan Ruddick in April.

17. Edmund “Livewire” McGuire (All American Pro Wrestling) – He’s currently at a point in his career where a lot of title shots for multiple titles could all come at once. A great guy with a very good win-loss record over the past year.

16. Gage Octane (3XWrestling) – The 3XW Champ is one of the best working in Iowa, hands down.

15. Mississippi Madman (Scott County Wrestling) – Come on, it’s the friggin Mississippi Madman!

14. Mark Sterling (3XWrestling) – 3XW’s Pure Wrestling Champion is also one half of the Pro Wrestling Phoenix Tag Team Champions. I don’t think there are too many in the Midwest that are better workers than this man.

13. Adam Raw (Lethal Wrestling Alliance) – Has it all, except for the LWA Heavyweight Title. Could a showdown with Donovan Ruddick catapult him to the top of this list next year? I say yes… and I know all.

12. Shane Hollister (Scott County Wrestling) – Few are having a better 2008 than Shane Hollister. He just recently beat Tyler Black for the SCW Heavyweight Championship.

11. “Serial Thriller” Shane Rich (All American Pro Wrestling) – AAPW’s Heavyweight Champ is always solid in the ring. He hasn’t had a bad match in 2008.

10. “The Future” Donovan Ruddick (Lethal Wrestling Alliance) – This is the guy everybody is talking about. He’s big, he has a huge upside, and he just grabbed the LWA Heavyweight Title away from Shorty Biggs.

9. Eric Ruffington (New Midwest Wrestling) – I’ve seen plenty about this guy through this site. The guy is entertaining and frequently has gold around his waist. He deserved to be in the PWI 500.

8. Jeremy Wyatt (Central States Wrestling) – One of the best in the Midwest, and he’s just as active in other places like LWA and PWP. The guy is tough and talented. That’s an excellent combination.

7. Keith Walker (AAW: Pro Wrestling Redefined) – The big guy had a lot of momentum but recently lost a lot of it when he left WLW. We’ll see what kind of impact he has in AAW and SCW.

6. Dangerous Derek (World League Wrestling) – The new World League Wrestling Heavyweight Champion had his stock rise significantly by defeating Chris Masters.

5. Dingo (Central States Wrestling: Missouri) – Can I get Dingo on TV? Like, seriously. This guy is that good, and NWA Missouri Champion to boot.

4. Jerry Lynn (AAW: Pro Wrestling Redefined) – He’ll be in the PWI 500 no matter what I say, but he still belongs on this list as the AAW Heavyweight Champ.

3. Michael Strider (Central States Wrestling) – I wish there was more Michael Strider to go around. I don’t think I’ve personally seen him wrestle for months now.

2. Tyler Black (Scott County Wrestling) – Ring of Honor has really helped raise the profile of this former SCW Heavyweight Champ.

1. Chris Masters (World League Wrestling) – Just recently losing the WLW Heavyweight Title doesn’t diminish his WWE experience for the majority of the year. I imagine he’ll rank highly, and should. He’s had some great matches in WLW.

That’s all I have for this edition of Mark This Down. Until next time, my people.

Missouri Wrestling Revival and this update are brought to you by:

Click here to go to our sponsor: Pro Wrestling and More Radio!

Pro Wrestling and More Radio plays wrestling related music… AND MORE! PWAM also supports breast cancer awareness and hopes for a cure. We are proud to be sponsored by PWAM, and encourage you to go give them a listen!