Wrestler Wrankings™: 2013-14 Season, Week 8

Curtis Axel now holds wins over two of the twenty or so best wrestlers of all time in Triple H and John Cena. That's impressive. Unfortunately, like a .300 hitter that never draws walks, hots for no power, and plays bad defense, this feat isn't nearly as incredible as it seems.

Axel was clearly outgunned by Triple H, only gaining an advantage when Helmsley began suffering from symptoms of head trauma, likely caused by his recent run in with Brock Lesnar. This can be forgiven as it was the Hennig progeny's first main event bout, Hunter is one of the best of all time, and at least he didn't embarrass himself out there.

Things got worse this week on RAW when Axel faced off against WWE Champion John Cena in a non-title affair. Now, John Cena is one of the best of all time and is a favorite against close to any wrestler in the history of the sport, so there's no shame being over matched here. Quite frankly, Axel looked really good in there against the world's greatest wrestler.

What there was no excuse for, was Axel's use of the Perfectplex. I'm glad that he has the move in his repertoire and he seemed to execute the move splendidly. I'm not even miffed that Cena kicked out! Greats like Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan have successfully kicked out of the legendary finisher when it was applied by Mr. Perfect himself and Cena certainly fits that sort of rarified profile. What I can't forgive, was that Axel hadn't worn down Cena nearly enough at the time he used his father's finishing move. Besides the weirdly effective modified armbar, and a few of his dad's signature holds, he had barely any effective offense against the legendarily resilient champion. Of course Cena would kick out, he was hardly hurt! Of course, none of this matted because a Calgary EMT wasn't able to find a decent parking spot.

Look, I'm happy for Heyman and Hennig and I'm sure that Axel's future is bright. And certainly you will take wins over top competition however you can get them, but all wins aren't created equal (though they are all worth 2 points in the Wrankings). Let hope that Axel can take the "momentum" he's garnered recently and use it to make some real headway in his promising career.

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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 29 and culminates with WrestleMania 30. 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 -- 5/27/13

• Dean Ambrose - 3 points (US title bout, win)
• Kofi Kingston - 1 point (Us title bout, no win)
• Alberto Del Rio - 2 points (win)
• Fandango - 2 points (win)
• Curtis Axel - 2 points (win)

Main Event -- 5/29/13

• Sheamus - 2 points (win)
• Antonio Cesaro - 2 points (win)

SmackDown -- 5/31/13

• Randy Orton - 2 points (win)
• Ryback - 2 points (win)
• Big E. Langston - 2 points (win)
• Chris Jericho - 2 points (win)
• Curtis Axel - 2 points (win)
• Kane - 2 points (win)
• Roman Reigns - 2 points (win)

WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 8 *TOP TEN*

1. RANDY ORTON -- 19 points

2. Alberto Del Rio -- 18

3. Kofi Kingston -- 17.5

4. Sheamus -- 13

5. Ryback -- 12.5

T6. Fandango -- 12

T6. Big E. Langston -- 12

T8. Dolph Ziggler -- 11

T8. Wade Barrett -- 11

T8. Miz -- 11

T8. Chris Jericho -- 11

notable

T14. Curtis Axel

Thanks for reading Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!