Best Of The Month: January 2013

For most of 2011-2012, I only covered the best of the WWE each month before expanding in October.  Then I took a two month hiatus from the series.  Have no fear marks, the best of the month has returned!  Starting a new format in 2013, we will cover the action from a wide range of promotions such as WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), TNA Wrestling (Total Nonstop Action), ROH (Ring Of Honor), NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling), PWG (Pro Wrestling Guerrilla) and more to name the best of the best every month.  But enough talk, let's get started shall we? 

Here the highlights from January 2013:

Wrestler Of The Month: The Rock

The Rock returned to the WWE this past month with a full workload and in what may have been the most controversial title win in the history of pro wrestling, he was the man who was finally able to defeat CM Punk effectively ending his 434 day reign.  Considering the fact that men such as John Cena, Ryback and Big Show have all failed to do the same, one has to wonder just who will be able to take the title off of the Great One.  These are questions we will only have the answers to in time, but for the month of January, The Rock stood tall as the man.

Match Of The Month:: NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VII: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

In a show full of classic matches, the Wrestle Kingdom VII main event featured two men who are for my money, two of the very best wrestlers in the world.  Hiroshi Tanahashi is in the midst of yet another noteworthy title reign and the only major threat to the title thus far has been the man many say will usurp him, Japanese wrestling's breakout sensation, Kauchika Okada.  They had faced off in main events twice in 2012 and this was the rubber match.  In a technical masterclass that lasted over thirty minutes, Tanahashi was finally able to turn back perhaps his greatest challenge to date with a match that will go down as one of the best Jan. 4 main events of all time.

Top 15 Wrestlers Pound For Pound

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Tanahashi can now lay claim to being the true best wrestler in the world with his triumphant victory of Kazuchika Okada.  He's far and away the best wrestling champion in the world right now.
2. The Rock WWE Champion: After a month long war of words and an immense amount of tension, The Rock was the man who ended the year-plus WWE Championship reign of CM Punk also ending Punk's near year long streak at the top of the rankings.
3. CM Punk: Punk may have lost his title last month, but he still had one of the most legendary title reigns the sport has ever seen.  And win or lose, there is no better combination of wrestling ability, desire and mic skills in pro wrestling right now.
4. John Cena 2013 Royal Rumble Winner: The 30 man royal rumble match is one of the biggest and hardest to win matches of the entire year.  With that said, John Cena joined some elite company by becoming only the fourth man to win more than once.
5. Jeff Hardy TNA World Champion: The Charismatic Enigma was able to turn back two of the best wrestlers in TNA by successfully defending his title against both Bobby Roode and Austin Aries at Genesis.
6. Kazuchika Okada: Okada is still one of the most formidable competitors in all of pro wrestling and his performance at Wrestle Kingdom speaks for itself.  Not many men can say they took the best in the world to their absolute limits.
7. Alberto Del Rio WWE World Heavweight Champion: Del Rio's face turn was the best executed of the entire month and he has grown into an immensely popular talent.  Not to mention that he defeated Big Show in TWO Last Man Standing matches.
8. Shinsuke Nakamura IWGP Intercontinental Champion: Nakamura beat a legit MMA badass at Wrestle Kingdom VII after being knocked completely unconscious.  It was a legendary performance that silenced many of pro wrestling's naysayers.
9. The Shield: Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins are the WWE's most dangerous men and they assaulted nearly all of the WWE's top talent.  John Cena, The Rock, Randy Orton, Sheamus and Ryback can all testify that they are the one's to watch right now.
10. Kevin Steen ROH World Champion: Steen is the most feared champion in all of pro wrestling and he appears to be unstoppable.  Most challengers aren't even looking to beat him anymore.  At this point, they just hope to survive the match unscathed.
11. Team Hell No WWE Tag Team Champions: The team of Kane and Daniel Bryan were always one of the most entertaining duos in the WWE, but not many realize that they ended the month at just a day short of breaking the top ten WWE tag title reigns of all time.
12. Chris Jericho: Y2J returned in all of his light bright jacket glory at the Royal Rumble PPV to a tremendous ovation.  He would then last an impressive 40 plus minutes before being eliminated by Dolph Ziggler.
13. Bobby Roode & Austin Aries: Both Roode and Aries failed to take the TNA World title off of Jeff Hardy, but have forged an alliance that may prove to be the most powerful pairing Impact Wrestling has ever seen.
14. Antonio Cesaro WWE United States Champion: Cesaro's been on a fast rise to the WWE's main event scene and he's single handedly re-established the United States title as one of the most prestigious belts in the company.
15. Karl Anderson: Anderson has worked his way up the NJPW ladder and has finally earned a shot at Hiroshi Tanahashi's IWGP Championship.  Big things are in store for a man who has always been one of the most underrated performers in the biz.