Fans who only watch WWE can be forgiven for not knowing it, but there's an embarrassment of riches in today's wrestling world. 2015 was a year filled with incredible matches and compelling feuds, and so far, 2016 looks like it will equal (or surpass) it. Ring of Honor, the long-running independent company that can arguably lay claim to being the U.S.'s second-largest promotion, had its most profitable year ever, built around the ascension of ROH World Champion Jay Lethal. Lethal won the belt in a classic match in June and has defended it ever since. Rival promotion EVOLVE has seen Drew Galloway and Timothy Thatcher earn career-making title runs and a vicious feud between Johnny Gargano and Ethan Page settled in a "I Quit" match. It's not just the U.S. that's on fire. British promotion Revolution Pro has hosted amazing matches featuring talents like Marty Scurll and soon-to-be-NJPW star Will Ospreay. There's so much good wrestling out there that watching the subpar stuff is a waste of time.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
