The excellent website allmusic.com describes The Beatles as "among the few artists of any discipline that were simultaneously the best at what they did and the most popular." That's a fair evaluation of the seminal rock quartet. You know who else fits this bill? That's right, WWE's own John Cena.
A decade is practically an eternity in sports and yet that's how long that Cena has reigned over the WWE, winning nearly 70% of his matches whilst battling a relentless rogues gallery consisting of the toughest wrestlers in the world. Sheamus' monster season atop the Wrankings is impossible to discount; however, Cena is no slouch at #7 and in a longer timeline, he'd likely find himself at the top of any holistic evaluation of in-ring success. Wins over Brock Lesnar and CM Punk in the past year certainly bolster his case as alpha dog, as well.
In the midst of all these victories, Cena also finds himself consistently featured at the top of the card regardless of his current status as champion. The reason for this is simple Thuganomics. People just love to pay money to see Cena do Cena things.
Fact is, no one elicits a bigger reaction than John Cena and no one raises their opponents to a higher profile. Let's use R Truth as an example:
Little Jimmy's legal guardian toiled for years as a solid, but unspectacular, mid-carder who was better known for his infectious entrance shtick than for anything he actually accomplished in the ring.
That is, until he ran afoul of John Cena in 2011. Truth was immediately thrust into WWE Championship contention and achieved a level of visibility that he had never before enjoyed. This lasted for the better part of the year until Survivor Series, where it took a once in a lifetime pairing of Cena and The Rock to send R Truth back to obscurity...where he currently resides. With Cena, he was headlining Pay-Per-Views and making the company millions of dollars in revenue. Without him, he's barely able to afford a ham and egg breakfast. That's the power of John Cena.
Popularity and skill's mutual exclusivity is a tragic commentary on the tastes of the masses, but thankfully pro wrestling fans have John Cena to hang our collective hats on. On behalf of the entire Internet Wrestling Community, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your hard work, Mr. Cena. Keep it up!
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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 BONUS = 1.5X
SUMMERSLAM, SURVIVOR SERIES, ROYAL RUMBLE = 2X BONUS
WRESTLEMANIA = 3X BONUS
The WWE season begins on the day after WrestleMania 28 and culminates with WrestleMania 29. The wrestler who accumulates the most points over the course of the season, wins the coveted Wrankings Championship!
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Monday Night Raw -- 2/25/13
- Ryback - 2 points (win)
- John Cena - 2 points (win)
- Randy Orton - 2 points (win)
- R Truth - 2 points (win)
- Jack Swagger - 2 points (win)
Main Event -- 2/27/13
- Sheamus - 2 points (win)
- Mark Henry - 2 points (win)
SmackDown -- 3/1/13
- Antonio Cesaro - 3 points (US title bout, win)
- Miz 1 point (US title bout, no win)
- Alberto Del Rio - 2 points (win)
- Randy Orton - 2 points (win)
- Sin Cara - 2 points (win)
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WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 48 *TOP TEN*
1. SHEAMUS -- 165.5 points
2. Alberto Del Rio -- 121
3. Ryback -- 118.5
4. CM Punk -- 114.5
5. Big Show -- 98
6. Antonio Cesaro -- 92
7. John Cena -- 72.5
8. Randy Orton -- 71.5
9. Miz -- 54
10. Dolph Ziggler -- 50
Thanks so much for reading, Cagesiders. We'll see you next week!