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The record books will show that John Cena was defeated by Bray Wyatt at the 2014 edition of Extreme Rules. For all time, the Wrestler Wrankings will read 4.5 points for Bray Wyatt for winning a non-title bout at a minor Pay Per View event. This happened.
What won't be codified in the Wrankings is the way in which Wyatt emerged victorious.
From a clearly athletic standpoint, Cena was the apparent better wrestler bell-to-bell. On a about a dozen occasions, Cena had a clear path out of the cage blocked by a Luke Harper, a particularly rambunctious Eric Rowan, or a young boy with a terrible sinus infection. When faced with the possibility of a life-threatening two on one beatdown or the skyrocketing cost of childcare, Cena repeatedly chose to retreat back into the cage with the Eater of Worlds.
But I'm not saying the result is somehow marred, only... affected. Credit Bray Wyatt for convincing Two and a Half Men to obey his every whim and sacrifice an entire Sunday to help him in his match.
John Cena is more than capable of influencing like-minded folks to aid his cause. He simply chooses to deploy them all as clones of himself to enhance his entrance at WrestleMania 25. That's not how I would allocate my limited resources, but I don't claim to possess a mastery of the finer points of graduate-level Thuganomics either.
We'll never know if Bray would have won in a straight up fight on that night, but we do know that Cena bested him at WrestleMania 30. But then again, Wyatt beat Daniel Bryan in a fair fight at Royal Rumble even though Bryan pinned Cena in the middle of the ring at Summerslam. Rock-Paper-Sciccors professional wrestling is not.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's many ways to win a match. Some are more honorable than others, but they are all equally legitimate in the eyes of WWE. Over the long haul, wins and losses do matter and the variances of ethics and karma usually even out. Keep winning and you'll do well.
That's what the Wrestler Wrankings are all about!
OFFICIAL WRESTLER WRANKINGS FORMULA
ANY WIN = 2 POINTS
US OR INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE BOUT = 1 POINT
WWE 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 30 and culminates with WrestleMania 31. The wrestler who accumulates the most points over the course of the season, wins the coveted Wrankings Championship!
Extreme Rules -- 5/4/14
Monday Night Raw -- 5/5/14
Main Event -- 5/7/14
Smackdown -- 5/9/14
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WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 5 *TOP TEN*
1. BAD NEWS BARRETT -- 21.5 points
2. Rusev -- 21 points
3. Cesaro -- 13 points
T4. Rob Van Dam -- 12 points
T4. Sheamus -- 12
6. Daniel Bryan -- 9.5
7. Big E -- 8.5
8. Ryback -- 6
T9. Bray Wyatt -- 5
T9. Dean Ambrose -- 5
T9. Dolph Ziggler -- 5
T9. El Torito -- 5
Thanks for reading, Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!