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Grand Theft Auto V comes out this Tuesday. It's definitely going to be a good game. Developer Rockstar North has created too fine of a legacy with its string of can't miss entries in the GTA franchise since the landmark Grand Theft Auto 3.
But just because we know that GTA is going to rule, that doesn't necesseraly mean that it will actually be the best game of the year (The Last of Us, probably?) or the best game that will be released in the next year or so (Fallout 4, maybe?)
And so it goes with professional wrestling. WWE has a track record of providing the finest pro-wrestling action in the history of the sport. It's champion, Randy Orton is, by any account, an elite wrestler and a fine representative of the company and the industry as a whole. He looks the part, acts the part, and delivers in the ring on a consistentbasis.
But just because Orton is the standard-bearer of the the industry and is therefore 'most likely' to be the best wrestler, doesn't mean that he or someone else from within WWE is a shoe-in to win every match.
Take this week's Raw, for example. In a unique set of circumstances, former Intercontinental Champion and past/current/future lifestyle deviant Goldust was granted an old-fashioned challenge match against WWE Champion Randy Orton to settle a personal matter. With Orton at the peak of his powers and Goldust's career gathering actual dust it seemed a mismatch of the highest order.
Shockingly, despite Orton's lofty standing in the Wrestler Wrankings (#2 as of this writing) Goldust gave Orton everything he could handle before falling prey to the Orton's deadly rKo finishing maneauver. Was Goldust's great performance a result of the high emotions involved with his brother Cody's recent termination at the hands of Orton's business assocites? Perhaps, but let's not forget that Orton himself was likely in a state of emotional arousal given his own history with Cody Rhodes. I'd call that a wash and it was just a great match between two competitors who truly had a lot at stake.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, just because a wrestler is most likely to be the best, as Orton is, doesn't mean that a Goldust can't beat him in the right conditions.
Oh, and also that GTA5 is going to be freakin' sweet.
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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 -- 9/9/13
Main Event -- 9/11/13
SmackDown -- 9/13/13
WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 23 *TOP TEN*
1. ALBERTO DEL RIO -- 63 points
T2. Daniel Bryan -- 58
T2. Randy Orton -- 58
4. Curtis Axel -- 45
5. Dolph Ziggler -- 34
6. Christian -- 32
7. John Cena – 31.5
T8. Sheamus -- 30
T8. Ryback -- 30
T8. Miz -- 30
Thanks for reading Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!