1) Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada: I haven't been following Pro Wrestling NOAH as much as I'd like but I do have a buddy that has kept me posted on results and reviews of their shows. The big angle in the company right now has been the invasion and dominance of Minoru Suzuki's stable, Suzuki-Gun. They hold every championship in the company and with it, all of the power. Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada's GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title win was more than just a normal title victory. It represents a shift in the balance of power in NOAH as it's the first time Suzuki-Gun has dropped a belt since the invasion began.
2) Matt Hardy: Coming in at number two this week is one of the more baffling booking choices of the year.To close out Bound for Glory 2015 in North Carolina, Matt Hardy captured the TNA World Title by pinning Drew Galloway in a Triple Threat match. I think the decision to put the title on Matt was pretty terrible, especially with it coming at the expense of Ethan Carter III's reign. EC3 has consistently been, far and away, the best thing about TNA this year, so him losing the title, even if he didn't get pinned, is a bad move. Especially to Matt Hardy. Still, winning a World Title is enough to land someone high on this list, regardless of how I feel about the booking decision.
3) Shinsuke Nakamura: Probably the best show on television this week was ROH TV. To close out a fun episode, Shinsuke Nakamura took on Adam Cole in the main event. While I don't believe the match was as great as I expected it to be, it was still the match of the week for me. Nakamura, who recently won back the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, bested Cole. With ROH and NJPW working together and what happened at Field of Honor between Jay Lethal and Nakamura, part of me wonders if there will be a title match down the line. Maybe a ROH Title match or an Intercontinental Title match if Lethal really wants to be greedy. Either way, Nakamura once again performed well. It's very possible that Nakamura will be on this list again very soon with an Intercontinental defense against Karl Anderson coming up on October 12th. I can't see one half of the Tag Team Champions winning the belt and expect Nakamura to take it to the Tokyo Dome in January.
4) John Cena: To start the week, it looked like John Cena might not be able to make the top five this time. He issued his open challenge, which was accepted by Xavier Woods. Cena won via DQ but then lost a six man tag against New Day, where he teamed with the Dudley Boyz. He managed to turn things around at the Madison Square Garden WWE Network special. In the main event, Cena put the United States Championship on the line against WWE Champion Seth Rollins in a Steel Cage. They would have another solid match, but it wasn't as good as their SummerSlam or Night of Champions matches. Cena was on the verge of a loss until Kane showed up. Seth got stuck and didn't want to leave to face Kane, so he jumped back into the ring. That allowed Cena to score with an Attitude Adjustment and retain his belt. If you're keeping score, since their feud restarted in the summer, Cena has gone 4-1 against the top champion in the company.
5) Kevin Owens: On Smackdown, Kevin Owens took a loss, purposely getting himself counted out to retain the Intercontinental Championship. He would rectify that at the Madison Square Garden live special. In a first time ever contest, Owens took on Chris Jericho, the man who holds the record for most Intercontinental Title reigns. The match itself could have been more, as they were only given eight or minutes, but Owens was able to retain the belt with a small package. What stuck out to me on both shows was Owens' great ability to do heel things. On Smackdown, he realized he could take the countout and keep the belt and his face when he notices it is great. In MSG, it was a well timed rake of the eyes that led to the win.
