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The S3: Vote for Best Performer of the Week Ending Jan. 20th and Last Week's Winner

Everybody who comes to Cageside Seats has an opinion about what's going on in pro wrestling - the Smark's Shoot Standings (S3) are where YOU let us know YOURS.

By Sean Rueter

The Smark's Shoot Standings (S3) is Cageside Seats (cSs) way to give you, the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC), an opportunity to sound off on who "won" the previous week in nationally televised professional wrestling. Everybody caught up on the acronyms?

Just because the matches have predetermined outcomes - shh, don't tell Hollywood Wallace - doesn't mean there aren't winners and losers in this game. The guys and gals who can put butts in seats and keep channels from flipping are the ones who get to, and stay at, the top. Real victory in this contest comes by being a little bit funnier or more intense, stronger or acrobatic, adept at getting the crowd with you or against you.

Entertainment is subjective, though. Who did it for you this past week? We only ask you to vote at the S3, we don't tell you how to decide. If you're registered with SBNation, leave a comment with your top three performers of the week. If you care to, tell us why they were your choices. If you're not registered...why not? It's easy, you can have a full vote in our little corner of the IWC and you get to join in on all the fun here at cSs.

Whether you comment or not, vote for your favorite wrestler of the week in our poll.

Those votes will determine of Performer of the Week, and the top ten vote-getters will be revealed in next Monday's post. A showing in our weekly standings means points toward the Performer of the Year S3, for the 12 months from Wrestlemania to Wrestlemania.

Remember, the Standings are for the previous week - the 20th Anniversary episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, Wednesday night's WWE Main Event, TNA Impact Wrestling from January 17th and Friday the 18th's airing of WWE SmackDown.

Make YOUR mark, smarks!

This what you want from your new babyface champion:

  • I share friend of the S3 Manolo Has Pizzaz's reaction to last week's voting - I thought Punk would run away with it. So I don't know if it was the feel good nature of the story, its placement in the week or what, but the new World Heavyweight Champion crushed the WWE Champ and his latest pipe bomb.
  • As the staff's dedicated Rock mark (#ToothFairy4Life, and even I can't defend the Vickie Guerrero segment), I'm obliged to point out that not only did the most electrifying man in entertainment earn a nice finish for himself, but all of the men who worked with him benefited from a brush with the great one. Not that they aren't smark faves in their own right, but the folks who worked with John Cena didn't come off looking too good in your eyes...know what I'm saying?
  • A late stipulation to his pay-per-view (PPV) match made the Fallen Angel the #1 contender for the TNA Championship held by the Charismatic Engima. Hardy may not be what we're looking for in a top guy, but he's done pretty well for his company and had a nice comeback for himself. Daniels is, I think, pretty much what we're looking for in a top guy.
  • Big Show and Ricardo Rodriguez played integral roles in Alberto Del Rio's success last week, and were rewarded with a tie for the last spot on our list.
  • We've been getting a lot of comments lately, and that has meant more performers receiving votes. It also means that the bar for making the top ten has risen; quite a few folks have gotten some love but missed the cut in the last few weeks.

The S3 - Week Ending January 13

1. Alberto Del Rio
2. CM Punk
3. Damien Sandow
4. Antonio Cesaro
5. The Rock
6. Christopher Daniels
7. Cody Rhodes
8. Jeff Hardy
9. (tie) Big Show
9. (tie) Ricardo Rodriguez

Interesting movement is the story of the lower half of the annual top ten. Show and Bobby Roode were once hanging around the five spot, but have been pushed down by the charges of guys like Damien Sandow and Dolph Ziggler. Meanwhile, Del Rio and Antonio Cesaro have sustained runs to raise themselves up the list. It all leaves those ranking seven through ten separated by three-quarters of a point.

The S3 Performer of the Year - through the Week Ending January 13

1. CM Punk - 228 points
2. Daniel Bryan - 174
3. Dolph Ziggler - 141
4. Austin Aries - 134.5
5. AJ Lee - 133.5
6. Damien Sandow - 122.33
7. Alberto Del Rio - 74.25
8. (tie) Big Show - 74
8. (tie) Bobby Roode - 74
10. Antonio Cesaro - 73.5

The television programs in question for this week's vote represent the quiet before the storm of Rumble week. Who positioned themselves the best? How did the controversial 20th anniversary edition of Raw color your view of what followed?

Review the particulars with the help of Cageside Seats' Week in Wrestling and then vote away - in the comments and/or the poll. See you next week!

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