FanPost

Wrestler Wrankings: 2012-2013 Season, Week 16

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Well, John Cena has done it.

After a long year of distractions, ranging from the historic (The Rock), to the absurd (John Lauranitis), to the downright dangerous (Brock Lesnar), West Newbury's favorite son will finally step through the ropes to take on his rival from last summer. CM Punk, for the WWE Championship at the 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw!

Furthermore, it would seem that this epic clash couldn't come at a better time for Cena as he's on an absolute roll as of late, racking up wins like they were going as out of style as his jean shorts, while Punk has been bogged down by the AJ/Daniel Bryan quagmire that has seen him wrestle in merely one meaningful match in over a month.

But is the momentum as lopsided as it seems?

Some hard data and this week's Wrankings, after the jump.

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The above chart shows the Wrankings point progression for both CM Punk and John Cena this season. The obvious thing that pops out is the huge point bursts that Punk has enjoyed sporadically throughout the season. These are his successful title defenses on Pay Per View, which each equate to 7.5 big points.

The only single day score that Cena can claim that even approaches this is his two wins in one night performance approximately halfway through the timeline. Since that time, Cena has emerged from Wrankings purgatory to become a legit presence in the Top 10 with a steady string of wins.

Despite this (and discounting both athletes' impressive showings at Money in the Bank), you can see that they each have plateaued in the last month. I must admit that even I would have pegged Cena as the hotter athlete coming in to the mega match at RAW 1000, but the data proves otherwise. Both men are on rather equal footing, in terms of recent momentum. And this is as it should be for one of the biggest matches of their careers. Get your popcorn ready. It's going to be a good one!

OFFICIAL WRESTLER WRANKINGS FORMULA

ANY WIN = 2 POINTS

US OR INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE BOUT = 1 POINT

WWE OR WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT = 3 POINTS

NON "BIG 4" PPV = x1.5 BONUS

SUMMERSLAM, SURVIVOR SERIES, ROYAL RUMBLE = x2 BONUS

WRESTLEMANIA = x3 BONUS

The wrestler with the highest score when the season culminates at Wrestlemania 29 wins the coveted Wrankings Championship!

Now without further delay, let's get to this week's scores:

Money in the Bank PPV (1.5x bonus already included)

- Ryback -- 3 points (win)

- Dolph Ziggler -- 3 points (win, MitB Ladder Match)

- John Cena -- 3 points (win, MitB Ladder Match)

- Sheamus -- 7.5 points (win, WHC bout)

- Alberto Del Rio -- 4.5 points (WHC bout, no win)

- CM Punk -- 7.5 points (WWE title bout, win)

- Daniel Bryan -- 4.5 points (WWE title bout, no win)

RAW 7/16/12

- Alberto del Rio -- 2 points (win)

- Rikishi -- 2 points (win)

- Ryback -- 2 points (win)

- Brodus Clay -- 2 points (win)

- CM Punk -- 2 points (win)

Smackdown 7/20/12

- Damien Sandow -- 2 points (win)

- Kane -- 2 points (win)

- Animal -- 2 points (win)

WEEK 15 WRANKINGS TOP TEN

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1. SHEAMUS -- 61

2. CM Punk -- 46

3. Ryback -- 43

4. Alberto Del Rio -- 34

5. Daniel Bryan -- 33

6. Brodus Clay -- 24

7. Christian -- 22

8. John Cena -- 21

T9. Santino -- 20.5

T9. Kane -- 20.5

Thanks for reading and we'll see you next week.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.